Tiger Trainer
by Animation Universe 2005
Summary: Max has been enrolling at the MMA class for sometime and bonds with the trainer...but with some of the things this trainer's been through, it's Max's larger than life personality and inspiration that made this trainer become the student. But...Max's absence at the Jade Palace makes Tigress very uneasy and her jealousy reaches her peak. What might happen? Read and enjoy!
1. Another Training Day

So...if you guys caught a little glimpse of Jason on my previous fic 'Blackhawk', I decided that I should give you guys the story about this MMA instructor that is actually more than Max's mentor and how his student's personality made Jason the student as well.

* * *

Tiger Trainer

by: Terrell James

Chapter 1: Another Training Day

It was one of those clear sunny days at the Valley of Peace and at the Bushido-Akio house, we see Blackhawk, Max, Logan and Tae Kwan Do were on their way to the MMA class and both Blackhawk and Max were looking forward to working with their own trainers and Max felt excited to work with Jason again because he considers him one of his favorite trainers to work with despite the fact that he got his early training at the Jade Palace with the masters and Blackhawk noticed a sudden excitement in the tiger cub.

"Man, you're pretty stoked up." Blackhawk added.

"You bet! I'm so looking forward to training with Jason. He's like the best of the best!" Max exclaimed, joyfully.

"By the way, how's it going with Zyro?" asked Tae Kwan Do.

"Pretty good. You know, between learning to control myself when I get angry, learning to take it out on the equipment and meditation, it kinda helps me get in control of myself." Blackhawk answered.

"I can see that. You've been a little laid back since you lived here for three months." Logan added.

Blackhawk did realize that he's gotten really calm over those months and couldn't believe that it had been so long since the whole misunderstanding happened and yet he still feels like he needs to redeem himself even more, if not harder to keep his temper down low and he said, "I never thought that it would happen and that I would make an effort, but I did."

"The class is a good way to start the emotional healing process." Tae Kwan added.

"And kick butt too. Let's not forget that." Logan stated.

Tae Kwan rolled his eyes at Logan's immediate comment and said, "Why are you obsessed with kicking butt so much?"

"I don't know. I just like to learn how to kick someone's butt, that's all." Logan said, making up some kung-fu moves.

Tae Kwan sighed in response after Logan's comment and stopped him for a second and said, "Save your energy, dude. Don't want you to pass out before the lesson begins...or make a fool of yourself in front of Amber."

Max snickered in response to that and Blackhawk was wide-eyed about this and asked, "Who is this Amber?"

"Just a friend." Logan said, half stone faced.

Tae Kwan didn't believe that for a second and he heard that line before and said, "His crush."

"Shut...up." Logan said, gritting his teeth.

Both of them entered to the MMA gym and sees most of the students there and around that walk-in, Max noticed that there's a bunch of youngsters in his age and a couple of older teenagers all waiting for Master Wing to come by and start training and the four walked towards the gym and Max noticed someone familiar coming in...one of those teenagers was Kiba walking in and looking around the place and that surprised Max the most.

"Hey, Kiba!" Max called out.

Kiba's ears perked up and he quickly turned around and saw Max coming by and he was very excited to see him and he said, "Maximum dude!"

He quickly ran towards him and gave him a huge hug with his tail wagging like crazy and Max said, "I didn't know you were here."

"Neither did I. I heard that you're quite the all-star here." Kiba said, chuckling.

Max wasn't quite sure how Kiba knew that for a fact, but he doesn't consider himself an all-star student at all and he asked, "How did you figure?"

"Word on the street, little buddy. We hardly see much of you at the Jade Palace." Kiba added.

"I know. I miss it too. But I come whenever I can." Max added.

Kiba nodded his head in understanding and he rubbed Max's hair and mussed it a little bit and he said, "Anyways...I wanted to see you at work with that trainer of yours."

"You are?" asked Max.

"Yeah. This Jason guy is pretty cool though. He asked me to come over to see you at work and to team up." Kiba added.

That really upped Max's excitement even further because not only Kiba can see Max's work, but to team up with him because Max and Kiba are like a true-blue duo who are good at teaming up at everything they do and they're kinda like the best of friends as well and he said, "Awesome!"

Just then, Jason comes over wearing a red vest and grey sweatpants catching up with both Max and Kiba and said, "Great to see you guys."

"Hey, Jason." Max said.

"Sup, J?" asked Kiba.

Both of them gave each other a bow and switched to a bro-hug, high-five greeting and Jason said, "Nice seeing you again, Kiba."

"Same here, Jason." Kiba said, with enthusiasm.

"So...you guys ready?" asked Jason.

"Yeah, we're ready!" Max and Kiba replied, with deep enthusiasm.

* * *

This is the beginning! Stay tuned!

**Voice of Blackhawk: Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Max: Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Tae Kwan Do: Josh Peck**

**Voice of Logan: Rico Rodriguez**

**Voice of Kiba: Greg Cipes**

**Voice of Jason: Sean Astin**


	2. Teamwork

And we see a teamwork session in the works!

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Chapter 2: Teamwork

When they got to the room, Max was standing beside Kiba as Jason stood in front of them and both of them were looking forward to see what's coming next and Jason said, "You know, Kiba wanted to see what your moves were like during our sessions and he wanted to see firsthand how it looks in person. Think you can demonstrate, Max?"

"Of course." Max replied.

Kiba was definitely looking forward to seeing this and Jason came over to Max's side and got on his basic stance and said, "Whenever you're ready, Max."

Max got on his basic stance as well and ready to pounce on Jason as the two started sparring with each other and Max secured a whole lot of new moves; the left-right ankle hook, wrestling Jason down to the ground and doing a cartwheel/backflip mix to go with the MMA styles while incorporating kung-fu into the mix and Jason was sparirng with him with every chance he got, but Max ducked and dodged these moves and attacked him quicker than ever.

Kiba was standing there looking awestruck through the whole thing and realized that everything Max taught by this guy was nothing like what he learned at the Jade Palace and figured that he's got the amazing abilities to succeed and as he was watching, Kiba kept wagging his tail with full-on excitement like crazy.

After the sparring, both tigers looked at each other and bowed in respect to their amazing abilities and Kiba howled in deep excitement and exclaimed, "That was awesome! I've never seen anything like it before! Max, you own the freaking place!"

"Thanks, Kiba." Max said, happily.

Kiba went over to him and gave him a double-fist bump and Jason said, "All right...now today's lesson is about teamwork. It's much more difficult to accomplish a huge task when it's just by yourself and that's where you have to rely on your partner to complete it very quickly. Sometimes, we think it's much easier to do the task by ourselves, but it's actually a lot harder than anyone else thinks. You guys look like the kind of team that really resemble what it is when you can accomplish everything together."

"That's us." Max added.

"So...who's a better team player?" asked Jason.

"Max is. He's an amazing team player when it comes to accomplishing a huge challenge that most kids could never do." Kiba replied.

Jason was very surprised to hear that coming from Kiba and looked at Max and asked him, "Really?"

"Yeah, I did." Max added.

"Excellent. Now...I'm gonna see how you guys work together as a team really well with your moves and skills." Jason said.

And with that, Kiba and Max faced other in both sides as Max was way eager to show Jason how well him and Kiba mesh together as a team and Kiba started first by pouncing on Max, but the cub slid underneath his legs and struck him from behind. Kiba got himself back up and he jabbed at Max, but Max blocked and dodged every punch Kiba gave him and Max did a backflip twist spin to miss Kiba's attack.

Both of them were sparring each other and once they saw a dummy version of Temutai right in front of them, their teamwork skills were front and center as Max attacked him first and Kiba had his turn to punch, smack and kick straight to the face of that dummy and once it was flying all over, Max went towards Kiba, grabbed him by the arms and both of them attacked Temutai on the ankle.

Jason was immediately impressed by the teamwork performance that's been showcased right in front of him and he could see that they're the real deal, the true team when it comes to fighting skills and he was fully more impressed with Max and Kiba's example to examine true teamwork than anything else.

Both of them fought the crap out of the Temutai dummy and soon enough, Jason has seen enough and stopped the whole thing, blown away and awestruck by what they did and he said, "That's all I needed to see. And I get it, you guys have an amazing team ethic. Just...I just can't put it into words. You guys could be like a kung-fu duo team."

"That would be awesome! I can imagine me and Max kicking butt together, side by side." Kiba added, deepening his excitement.

"And I think you guys have shown what teamwork is all about. Knowing that you have someone to back you up in times of peril and your loyalty to each other is very important because it takes two accomplish the task ahead of you and it could never be underestimated...no matter how small or young you are." Jason added.

"Max has always accomplished everything at such a young age and I'm constantly blown away by his sheer awesomeness and how he stays true to himself, even when some say that he can't because he's too young. It's one guy you would never underestimate or doubt that he can make the impossible become possible." Kiba added.

Jason smiled after hearing Kiba's personal thoughts about the cub and realized that he's much special than he thought he was before and said, "Interesting..."

* * *

And now...we have an introspective look on Jason and see that there's more to this MMA trainer than meets the eye! Stick around to see what I mean!


	3. Just Like Best Friends

And when the training session's over, we see a brotherly/friendly relationship between Max and Jason.

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Chapter 3: Just Like Best Friends

After the whole session, Jason took a little breather for a second and he was completely amazed to see how Max accomplished all of those moves in one day and he's definitely awestruck over how much he's done at such a young age and it's like working with him has given him the strength and energy he needed to accomplish this feat, both intellectually and personally. As Max came in the room with Kiba, Jason turns around and said, "You guys have done really great today. Max, you've exceeded expectations many times better than what I saw before."

"Thanks, Jason." Max said, smiling.

Jason then turns to Kiba and he said, "Didn't expect you to be my student/volunteer of the day, but I guess this marks an amazing showcase of yours."

"Thanks, dude." Kiba said, happily.

Soon after, Headmaster Wing comes into the room and sees Kiba, Max and Jason coming in and from the looks of things, it looks like these three are getting along very well and he clears his throat and everyone grabbed their attention to the headmaster and said, "I trust that you all have been working hard."

"Yes, headmaster. Very hard." Jason replied.

"Good to hear, Jason. We're about to close up for the day." Wing added.

Jason nodded his head in understanding and he said, "Of course, master. We'll be out of there soon."

Wing nods his head as he walked out of there and mere seconds afterwards, Kiba said to Jason, "He's a big dude. Bigger than the Dragon Warrior even."

"But he's the most strong and wise here. Not to mention, the most hospitable. He's actually my mentor as far as life lessons go." Jason said.

"Your mentor?" asked Max.

Jason nods his head at that and said, "He's actually the one that brought me here a year ago and taught me how to be a great fighter, as well as being a teacher for kids. I didn't think that it would be possible, but Wing was never wrong."

Kiba could tell that there was something about Jason that he never noticed and he asked, "If you don't mind my asking, what did you used to do?"

Jason could tell that Kiba was trying to dig into his past a little bit and he said, "Let's just say I was pretty much a rebel tiger with a bad attitude. I'll just leave it that way."

Max was a little curious about that as well and he asked, "You were?"

Jason didn't want to give Max the full story because it might be too personal and he only said to Max, "I used to, but I'm not that person anymore. That's pretty much all I can tell you."

Max figured that there was something more to that, but decided to just leave it alone for now and nodded in understanding and he said, "Guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Absoultely. I'll be here then." Jason said, smiling.

Both of them bowed to each other and Kiba bowed to Jason as well and both tiger cub and white wolfdog walked out of there and afterwards, Jason's smile faded a little bit and knew that he didn't want to tell Max about what he used to be when he was younger, but knew that it would be a matter of time before it comes to light, no matter how many times he wanted to hide it.

Jason grabbed his satchel and made his way out of there to head towards his own room...in which is above the MMA facility and most of it was just a bed, a table, tiny kitchenette and a bathroom and as he sat down on his bed, he started thinking about his past a lot and said to himself, "How am I gonna recover from all the dumb stuff I did when I was a teenager?"

* * *

Looks like we're gonna dig up into Jason's past. Later on in the story, you'll know a lot more about him!


	4. Visiting the Jade Palace

And the core of this story is that Max has spent so much time in MMA class that he barely comes to the Jade Palace. You'd think that it'll ease the tension between him and Tigress, but...think again.

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Chapter 4: Visiting the Jade Palace

After Blackhawk, Tae Kwan Do and Logan came out with Max and Kiba, Kiba lets them know that he's gonna take Max to the Jade Palace for a while and promised to have him back before dinner and once they were on their way, Max climbed on Kiba's shoulders and was surprised that he's growing and said, "Man...you've grown a lot."

"I'm not too heavy, am I?" asked Max.

"Nah, you're not too heavy, Maxim." Kiba said, his voice straining as he was holding onto Max.

Upstairs at the Palace

By the time they made it there, they walked inside the door of the Hall of Heroes and saw Shifu, Po, Tigress, Crane, Viper, Mantis, Monkey, Takami, Ryo, Skyler, Faith, Hope, Kaizer, Ligress and Layla there and all of them noticed Kiba coming in with Max and Kiba said, "Hey, guys. Mind if you have a visitor?"

"Hi, everyone." Max said, waving at them.

Everyone said 'hello' to Max and most of them came to him and gave him hugs, high-fives, fist bumps and many other greetings whatsoever and Shifu bowed to the cub and said, "Hello, Maximus."

"Hi, Master Shifu. Long time, no see." Max said, bowing back.

Shifu nods his head in agreement and said, "Yes, it is. How have you been, young man?"

"Doing great. You?" asked Max.

"The very same." Shifu added.

"Since breakfast." Po stated.

Layla was the most excited to see Max and she said to him, "We missed having you here all the time ever since you took some MMA class."

"Yeah, I know. I miss it too. I miss being around all of you guys as well. But my MMA instructor is really awesome and really cool. I feel like I can learn a lot from him and it's one-on-one instead of a full class, which is also cool." Max answered.

"What's his name?" asked Takami.

"Jason. He's an MMA fighter and he's really patient, encouraging, easy to learn with and always has a lot of energy...even though I wore him out a few times. Didn't know I did that, but anyway..." Max replied.

Ryo chuckled in response to that and said, "He sounds like a great person to train with. By the way, he's not better than any of us, right?"

"Not really. But he's completely well-trained and well-disciplined. His tactics are kinda hard though. But...for the most part, I tackle them down quickly." Max replied.

For each and every mention of Jason, Tigress is starting to get a little envious about this whole thing. It's bad enough for her that she has to deal with the fact that he's at the Jade Palace almost everyday with most of the Hazards, but it's another that he's not present there that really sets her on edge and especially hearing about his new instructor and feels that this Jason has got something she lacks in and in her mind, it's like he's the new trainer for Max and she's chopped liver...and she hates being the chopped liver.

"...and I think he's pretty much the best trainer I've trained with. He's not just a trainer, but he's kinda like my best friend." Max added.

"That's really great to hear. Sounds like you're doing quite well for yourself, Maximus." Viper said, happily.

"Just don't be a stranger to come back to the palace anytime you want." Shifu added.

Max chuckles softly and said, "Don't worry...I'll always come here. Even if it's just to hang out, have company and things like that."

"Speaking of which...I'm gonna take him home now. And by the way, Ryo...I'd advise you not to head to the your room tonight when you go to sleep." Kiba said, leaving a smirk on that last part.

Ryo could tell that Kiba had did something to trick him again and he lets out a soft snarl and said, "You're up to something..."

* * *

Something tells me that Tigress is not satisfied with Max being in the MMA class and it's like...she doesn't want anyone else to train him but her. Wonder what it means? Stay tuned to find out!

**Voice of Shifu: Fred Tatasciore**

**Voice of Layla: Kelly Hu**

**Voice of Takami: Nolan North**

**Voice of Ryo: Jason Marsden**

**Voice of Viper: Lucy Liu**


	5. Dinnertime

And a typical dinnertime at the Bushido-Akio clan.

* * *

Chapter 5: Dinnertime

Soon enough, Kiba and Max got back to the Bushido-Akio house and saw Samurai standing there and Kiba was deeply excited to see his best panda friend coming in and Kiba said, "What up, Sam?!"

"Kiba-man! How goes, dude?" asked Samurai, happily.

Both of them came towards each other and greeted them with their signature handshake/bro-hug greeting and Samurai said, "How goes, K?"

"Doing awesome, Sammy! How's everything at the noodle shop?" asked Kiba.

Samurai sighed in response and replied, "Exhausting. But...it's all good, among everything else. Plus, I've always seen you around the noodle shop a lot...mostly with Ligress."

Kiba blushed a little bit when Samurai mentioned Ligress right in front of him and he's always been very secretive when it comes to the two of them and he said, "We're just friends. Nothing more."

"Not from what I saw when you two came there for a little 'date'. I saw Ligress licking your nose when you had that little strand of noodles on top of your nose." Samurai added, with a teasing smirk.

"You saw that?" Kiba asked, very shocked.

"Trust me...when people go on dates at the noodle shop, lots of things can happen. First dates, second dates, cute moments, embarrassing moments and stuff like that. Things like that cannot be turned away by those eyes. There was one moment where you guys tripped and she was on the floor and you were on top of her." Samurai stated.

Kiba had no idea what else to say about that and he was a little speechless for the moment and Max asked, "Really?"

"Uh...something like that." Kiba answered, trying to keep himself from being embarrassed.

"Hey...we've all been there, Kiba. You just have a little crush on Ligress, that's all." Samurai added, patting Kiba on the shoulder.

Kiba smiled a little bit and just wanted to move onto another subject and he said, "Anyways, I came bring back Max before you guys chow down."

"Thanks. Dinner's about to start anyways, so he's right on time." Samurai said.

As Max walked towards Samurai's side, Kiba also said, "Just wanted to make sure that he came home okay."

"Appreciate it, buddy. Guess I'll see ya later." Samurai said, smiling.

"You too." Kiba said, smiling.

Samurai and Kiba gave each other a little fist bump and Max joined in as well, receiving a chuckle from Kiba and as he left the house, the two brothers went inside the house to join in for dinner. Mere minutes later, everyone was sitting around the table, talking about their day at the MMA class and at the house or work and Mako asked Max, "So...how did it go in MMA class?"

"Really awesome. Me, Jason and Kiba were learning about teamwork and we demonstrated on what we do when it comes to taking down your enemy." Max replied.

"Kiba was part of the class?" asked Samurai.

Max nodded his head quickly and said, "Just for the day."

Blackhawk blinked his eyes for a second and he asked Max, "So...how's Jason?"

"Jason's so cool. He's like the best person to train with and we learn a lot from each other through it all. He makes me feel like I can succeed in anything and each time he encourages me to try something new, even when I think that I'm not sure if I can accomplish it, he always tells me to believe in myself and never let anything hold me back. For a while, I forget what I was so nervous about and just go for it. We do a lot together; from sparring, learning to punch, wrestle and self-defense. He makes me so excited about coming there every day and I like that it's just us instead of an entire class. Makes the whole day easier for me." Max replied.

"How come we've never met him before?" asked Reiko.

"Not sure exactly." Max answered.

Mako clears his throat and he chowed down his chow mein noodles and he said to Max, "I think you should invite him over to our house for dinner. Maybe when you see him tomorrow, you can ask."

Max could tell that this would be a good idea for him to introduce Jason to the rest of the Bushido-Akio family and he agreed with that plan and said, "Okay. I'll do that."

"Where does he live. by the way?" asked Mako.

"You know...he hasn't told me where he lives. I'll probably ask him that too." Max replied.

* * *

We've got more of Jason coming up soon! Stay tuned!

**Voice of Samurai: Josh Peck**

**Voice of Mako: Kyle Hebert**

**Voice of Reiko: Lori Loughlin**


	6. Jason's Temporary Home

Now we've got Jason having his temporary living quarters. You'd be surprised to see where he lives.

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Chapter 6: Jason's Temporary Home

By the next morning, Jason was already wide-awake and did some early morning exercising before going through the day of training and teaching to keep himself occupied, physically and mentally and as he keeps doing so, he keeps thinking about having a permanent home at the Valley of Peace instead of this one shack room on top of the MMA facility. Not that he's not grateful for having a roof over his head, but that he needs one to call his very own.

After almost 2 hours of intense training, he takes a few stretches to limber his muscular toned bare chest very well and after that, he puts on his grey tank top and headband on his head to get himself ready for the entire day ahead. No one outside of Headmaster Wing knows that he lives on top of the MMA facility for temporary reasons and as he heads towards the gym, he felt like he received that second chance and working with Max really upped the ante and everything about the cub's determination and willingness to go on at such a young age really inspired him to do better.

Although, he does wonder...is he always like that his whole life? He never really got a chance to hear Max's past story yet and wanted to get the full information soon. Maybe he might get it today when Max comes in for training.

By the time he makes it, he started doing some solo exercising by punching a few training dummies, a punching bag and push-ups and things of that nature. He worked very harder to get stronger and has a whole lot of redemption to travel and he's willing to go all the way even if it kills him.

Not long after that, he sees Headmaster Wing walk by and he clears his throat and said, "Morning, Headmaster."

"Good morning, Jason. Out doing your early training?" asked Wing.

"Yes, sir." Jason replied.

Wing nodded his head at that and he said to him, "Just save your energy before the lesson and the classes. I've told you this at least 1,000 times."

"I know, sir. But when it comes to an opportunity like this, I just don't wanna disappoint you. At times, I can't help myself." Jason answered.

Wing understood what he meant by all of those and he said, "Okay. Just take it easy, son. Since we're the only ones here, we might as well do some cleaning before everyone else shows up."

"All right." Jason replied.

Jason followed Wing over to help out with some cleaning and Wing asked, "Jason...I hope you take my advice to find a home for yourself because you know that living here is a temporary thing."

"I know. I just don't have the money to afford one yet." Jason added.

Wing nodded at that and it was true that Jason doesn't have much to find a place to stay and said, "You'll find a place to live here in the Valley. You can take my word for it."

"Thanks, master." Jason replied.

* * *

You've only seen a little bit of Jason's vulnerability. You'll see more coming soon!


	7. Diaper Change

Now...here's the daunting task Arizona has to take on...changing Jacob's diaper.

* * *

Chapter 7: Diaper Change

At Arizona and Sierra's room, Arizona was the only one in the house tending with little Jacob, in which he's grown a little spiky mohawk like his father and he started grooming the cub's fur and said, "You're gonna look really good-looking when you get older."

During the time that Arizona's grooming his son's fur, Jacob started fussing a little bit and Arizona was still grooming him entirely and he said, "Come on, son...just a little more."

Jacob continued to be fussy and Arizona was trying his best to keep grooming him, but it was kinda evident that Jacob doesn't like to be groomed and started moving away from his father and Arizona said, "Come on, Jake. I gotta groom you. Besides, mommy doesn't want you to have a messy fur."

He picked Jacob up and the cub started fussing his head off, but just after he picked him up, Arizona smelled something completely foul and he checked Jacob to see what it is and from the minute he smelled him, he covered his nose because the smell was so strong and said, "Someone's getting a diaper change."

Arizona lets out a deep sigh and just decided to skip the fur groom and change his diaper as he set him down on the table, gathered some baby wipes and fresh set of diapers to prepare himself for the most enduring tasks he could ever endure.

Suddenly, he sees a white mask thrown at the door and Arizona walks over to see where did this come from and soon enough, Mako pops his head over and said, "Comes in handy."

After Mako left, Arizona set the mask down and proceeded to remove Jacob's diaper and once he removed it, the stinky stench overpowered him and Arizona just groaned and gagged in disgust, almost like he was ready to throw up because the baby stink was so horrible, but never thought it's be this strong and he started coughing.

"Oh man..." Arizona said, covering his nose.

Arizona felt like he couldn't breathe with that stench all over the room and decided it was best to put on that white mask to protect his sense of smell and as he put it on, he went forward with the diaper change and placed the dirty diaper onto the trash, grabbed the baby wipes and just wiped Jacob's butt several times and after that, he puts on a fresh new diaper for him.

Once he got that out of the way, he held him and said, "Good as new. Now...let's groom your fur, buddy."

Several minutes after that, Arizona walked downstairs with Jacob in arm and gives the mask back to Mako and he asked, "How'd you know?"

Mako chuckled softly after that question and he replied, "It helped me get through my first 9 kids and also with my newborn baby cubs as well. Changing a baby's diaper is not the most easiest task when you're a parent. The smell could be unbearable. But...at the same time, you have to do it in order to keep your baby clean and clothed."

Arizona chuckled softly at that and he said, "That's an issue I have with Jake. This little guy does not like clothes because he's used to walking around with his diaper on."

"Believe it or not, Cody, Samurai and Phoenix wanted to just run around naked when they were babies." Mako said, chuckling.

Suddenly, Arizona was surprised to hear that his half-cousins used to not like clothes when they were babies and asked, "Really?"

"Oh, really. Them and Tsunami. Some of my daughters were not tolerant of the boys running around naked when they were kids. Often times, I think Samurai and Phoenix used to wet themselves on purpose as an excuse to run around naked in the house." Mako added.

"I didn't know that. Jacob's no different either from those guys, right?" asked Arizona.

"Of course. You just have to be very patient with them and just teach him what's right and what's not and that way, he'll learn to listen to you and that whatever you say goes and I know you're very capable of handling this situation." Mako said.

"Thanks. I think those advices about being a dad will help me become a better father." Arizona added.

"There will be some bumpy roads along the way, but you gotta keep going forward. That changing diaper is just the first of many times to handle Jake." Mako added.

"First? You mean...there's gonna be more?" asked Arizona.

Mako nodded his head at that and Arizona could tell that Jacob's gonna be a handful, but he's gonna take any advice from Mako to be the best father he can be and he said, "At least I can make sure that he's gonna be the best person he can be and have a great family life for him. One way or another, I'm gonna give Jacob a life I never had when I was a cub."

"Very wise man. You're turning into the young man I know you have become, son." Mako said, happily.

After Arizona went back upstairs, Samurai came downstairs with this embarrassed look on his face and said, "You weren't supposed to mention that."

"Just giving Arizona a few examples." Mako added.

"But that's still embarrassing." Samurai said, blushing.

"Do I have to show you the picture of just you and your butt cheeks when you were a baby cub?" asked Mako.

"No! Please don't show that picture! It's just too embarrassing enough as it is." Samurai pleaded.

* * *

Now was that hilarious or what? Stay tuned for more!

**Voice of Arizona: Nick Roye**

**Voice of Jacob: Tara Strong**

**Voice of Mako: Kyle Hebert**

**Voice of Samurai: Josh Peck**


	8. Excitement

And parts of the Five gets to meet Max's MMA trainer for the first time and it's not exactly a first impression.

* * *

Chapter 8: Excitement

As the afternoon goes on, Blackhawk, Logan, Tae Kwan Do and Max were walking their way back to the MMA class and as they were heading forward, they see Po, Monkey, Tigress and Viper walking by and Tae Kwan Don was the first one to greet them and said, "Hey, guys!"

Po heard them and he walked towards the others and said, "Hey, how you doing?"

"Doing great. We're on our way to the MMA class. I think Max is excited to learn with Jason and Blackhawk's looking forward to work with Zyro. Believe it or not, I haven't seen both of them excited over this class. Max...I would expect his excitement, but I never expected it from Blackhawk and he's been with us for three months. It's very rare." Tae Kwan answered.

Monkey went over to Max and he was instantly surprised that he's growing a little and said, "Have you gotten taller?"

"Since breakfast." Max replied.

Monkey chuckled softly and patted his head and said, "You get taller every single day, Maxie buddy. I wish I could be your trainer one day."

"You would? You are kinda my favorite out of the Five." Max replied.

Monkey was surprised that Max is considered a favorite of the Five and asked, "Really? Am I second or first?"

"First favorite." Max added.

Monkey smiled in response to that and Tigress got a little irate that Max chose Monkey as his most favorite out of the Furious Five and each time she looks at the cub, jealousy gets rising up on her skin and it's like she wants to fight him, but after the events that occurred when she almost took Max's life away, she fears that it'll happen again and she'll snap at any moment. But that doesn't mean her jealousy's going away.

"Thanks for the favorite, Max. I'm just really honored to be considered a favorite of yours." Monkey added.

"So...who's your second favorite?" asked Po.

"Viper. Just because she's nice, sweet and not afraid to kick butt." Max replied.

Viper was also flattered by all of this and she said, "Why thank you, Max."

Soon enough, they saw Jason coming by and Max was completely stoked to see him and Max said, "Hey, Jason!"

Jason turned around to see Max along with Blackhawk, Tae Kwan Do and Logan standing there and he said, "Sup, guys? We're about to start training in a few."

"Cool." Max said.

Jason turned around and saw most of the Jade Palace masters standing there and he was super amazed to meet them for the first time as he's a big fan of their work and he bowed to them as they bowed back and he said, "Hello there. It is such an honor to be in your guys' prescence. It's like from looking at you guys in a poster from my room to here in person...I am not worthy."

Po chuckled softly in response and said, "Hey, that makes two of us."

"You're Jason, right?" asked Tigress.

Jason nods his head and replied, "Yes, I am. Jinzou Kamikaze...but people call me Jason. I've been teaching MMA for a year now."

"He's the best teacher ever!" Max exclaimed.

Hearing that Jason is 'the best' seemed to fill Tigress' thoughts with so mcuh revenge to use against not only him, but Max. Yet she knows that she's the best above everyone else and she said to Jason, "Word to the wise...don't get too comfortable teaching Max."

"Max is one of my best students. Well...student actually. We do one-on-one training sessions with him by request from my headmaster." Jason added.

"Interesting. Well...just want to let you know that Max has only one trainer in mind...and that's me." Tigress stated, in a serious tone.

Max clears his throat and glares at Tigress for a second and said, "Really? Do we have to do this now? I don't want to train with you."

Suddenly, it felt like the wind has kicked her off her feet after Max said those words right in front of her and it's like her pride has been shattered once again and Po could tell there's gonna be tension showing between the two of them again and he said, "Okay...well, I think we should head back to the Jade Palace. It's nice meeting you, Jason."

"You too." Jason replied.

"Maybe you should come to the Jade Palace sometime to see what we do." Viper offered.

Jason nodded his head and he said, "And you guys should check out my session with me and Max. You're all invited."

After they left, Max and the others headed inside the MMA class to start it up and meanwhile, Po cannot believe that Tigress would go far as to go at Jason when it comes to Max and he said, "Tigress...you just can't stop going after Max, can't you? Remember what happened last time?"

"Yes, I'm aware of what happened last time. I'm not gonna make that same mistake again." Tigress stated, gritting her teeth.

"And you were kinda rude to Jason." Viper pointed out.

"Yeah, he seems like a good guy. If he's training Max, it shouldn't be a problem." Monkey added.

Tigress snarled in response with the thought of Max training with someone else outside the Jade Palace and she said, "Well, I do have a problem with it."

* * *

Sounds like it's the battle of the tigers...even though Jason just met the Jade Palace masters and it looks like Tigress is getting the huge stages of green envy all over. Stay tuned!

**Voice of Po: Mick Wingert**

**Voice of Monkey: James Sie**

**Voice of Tigress: Kari Wahlgren**


	9. Pep Talk

And here's where Jason and Max give each other encouragement advice!

* * *

Chapter 9: Pep Talk

As everyone got in the class, Headmaster Wing was already there along with the other student instructors and Wing was pretty much surprised to see them come in so early and he said, "Good afternoon, everyone."

"Afternoon, Headmaster Wing." everyone replied, while bowing to him.

Headmaster Wing bowed back as well as well as the other student instructors and he said, "Class will start in a little while and since Max, Blackhawk, Tae Kwan Do and Logan's class don't start until 3:00, they're more than welcome to observe what we do."

Jason nodded his head at this and was in full agreement on this one and he said, "I'm cool with that."

Seconds later, Max and Jason were heading towards their instructor place and he could tell from Jason's face that he was kinda uncomfortable with that conversation he had with Tigress and he just couldn't help but feel embarrassed for him and he said, "Sorry about that, Jason."

"About what?" asked Jason.

"About what Tigress said to you." Max replied.

Jason lets out a deep sigh, turned to Max and patted his head, mussing his hair up a little bit and said, "Don't worry about it. I still see it as an honor to actually meet her."

Max smiled at that particular outgoing and knew that Jason's strange turn of events ended pretty good and he said, "You're taking it really well."

"Why wouldn't I?" asked Jason.

"Me and Tigress...for some reason, she sees me as a threat whenever I visit the Jade Palace or when I have to take a challenge that's suitable for grown-ups. But I've accomplished a lot already; from leading a dangerous mission, taking down many villains and attempting to do some tricks and that sort of thing." Max replied.

Jason seemed completely wide-eyed about all the stuff Max had done before and he asked, "Really?"

"Yeah, all before I turned 10." Max answered.

The fact that Max could do all those things before he was 10 has immediately made Jason amazed and surprised at the same time and given that he's younger, it just blows his mind in ways he can't imagine. He then asked, "How did you manage to accomplish those tasks?"

"Well...someone has to do it, right? Tigress has always underestimated me at everything I wanted to do or want to do because I'm too young or too small. It kinda made me want to believe it for a while, but I used that as motivation for me to go forward with the task and tackle it head-on. I'm not gonna run away, cry, hide or feel scared at all. So...I just believed in myself and faced the challenge with a big smile on my face." Max answered.

"Amazing...I just wish there were so many kids who could be like you. Despite your age and all, sometimes the person who underestimates you end up being underestimated themselves because they feel like they're being threatened by someone different than them and they wanna try to bring you down, but you keep holding your ground and never give up. What you just told me embodies everything of what we do every day and it's an awesome pleasure to train you so I can learn from you." Jason stated.

"Wow...thanks." Max said, amazed.

Jason lets out a deep sigh and said to Max, "Believe it or not, you're even more special than I thought you were before. I just wish that..."

Jason paused himself because he was almost giving too much away from himself and Max asked, "Wish that what?"

"That I could've been like you or had someone like you years ago." Jason replied.

Headmaster Wing came in the MMA ring room where he saw Jason and Max conversing together and he said, "It's time, Jason."

"All right, I'm on my way." Jason added.

Jason looks back at Max and he asked, "Wanna watch us train?"

"You bet!" Max exclaimed, excitedly.

* * *

Max gets to see Jason train? This is gonna be great! Stay tuned!


	10. Student Teachers' Training Session

And the younger Bushido-Akio members and Blackhawk see how their mentors to their own training.

* * *

Chapter 10: Student Teachers' Training Session

Before Long, Headmaster Wing brought in Jason, Zyro and a bunch of other student teachers to do some training of their own and for Blackhawk, Max, Tae Kwan Do and Logan actually got to witness what goes down before the actual MMA class and Tae Kwan, Max and Logan are very ecstatic to see this and Logan said, "This is gonna be good."

"I know, right?" Tae Kwan asked.

With that, Headmaster Wing started off with a few simple basic stances and the rest of the students followed suit as well and brought in several elements of kung-fu, ninjitsu and MMA all rolled up into one big martial arts mashup move and Wing incorporated a lot of kung-fu/MMA movements by sparring with Zyro and Jason and as they sparred, Jason wanted to gain his strength and went around to tackle Wing harder, but Wing was too smart and wise for his own strengths.

Wing blocked and dodged every punch and kick Jason brought in and he grabbed him by the hand, flipped him down and wrestled him to the ground and Zyro fought off two others and he was putting every single ounce of mixed martial arts/kung-fu hybrid on display when he tackled two other students in the shin, blocked and dodged their punch and did an aerial backflip as he crawled through the walls.

"Show off!" another student teacher exclaimed.

Zyro scoffs at this and just got back down to the ground and continued to spar with the other two and they've shown their strengths throughout this whole thing while Blackhawk, Max, Tae Kwan Do and Logan kept watching and all Max ws doing was watching Jason spar with Headmaster Wing and all of his MMA work was captivating like he was a professional at it and he studied every movement Jason was using.

"Go, Jason." Max whispered.

Jason was still sparring with Headmaster Wing and he was pleasantly surprised that the headmaster has got quick moves and agility like a young warrior and Jason was willing to go all the way and sparred with him by placing his fists in the air and tackling the headmaster down and flipped him. But Wing had other plans...he grabbed Jason's wrist and flipped him down and he landed on his back.

Jason got himself back up on his feet and tackled the headmaster, but blocking and dodging his moves as fast as possible and soon enough, he faced with with Zyro and five other student instructors; most of whom are wolves and tigers; all in their late teens and early 20's. Jason fought with all of the five instructors to showcase their different abilities and skills to the four young students and all four were studying them as they sat down.

After this, the headmaster told them to stop and they faced each other and the headmaster while they panted heavily and Wing said, "Excellent showcase, boys. Jason, you show wonderful strength and displayed it really well. However, I would suggest not to go too hard on me when it comes to your strength."

"Yes, master." Jason said.

"In any event, great moves and I do believe that you've gained a lot of knowledge here. Class will begin in a few, so get yourselves ready." Wing added.

Everyone went to their teaching spaces and Blackhawk went behind Zyro to go forward to the next lesson while Max walked behind Jason and he was complimenting his teacher on his amazing moves and learned a lot from him, which surprised Jason to the utmost reason that he was commended for what he had done and he lets out a small smile towards the tiger cub.

* * *

You know you're doing awesome when a master's student gives you a thumbs-up. Stay tuned for more!

**Voice of Zyro: Will Friedle**

**Voices of other student trainers: Josh Keaton, Drake Bell, Mikey Kelley, Rob Paulsen, Seth Green**


	11. Dropping in the Jade Palace

Now we're focusing on Musaki and his adopted boys as they enter the Jade Palace...and it seems as though the masters got more than they bargained for when they see them again.

* * *

Chapter 11: Dropping in the Jade Palace

Musaki was carrying his two adopted boys, Luke and Noah as they went out on a walk across the village for a while and as he was walking, he thought that it would be a good idea to step into the Jade Palace for a little visit and see how they're doing. He walks up the steps and it felt like a lifetime since he last stepped foot in the Jade Palace since he was stepping down from training to handle his priorities and he hoped that things will remain in good terms.

As soon as they finally made it to the top, Musaki looks up at Noah and noticed the silver fox cub's eyes widen in wonder and he said, "Yeah, very big, isn't it? That's where your foster dad used to live."

He walks a few steps closer and he knocked on the door, anxiously waiting for an answer to come and after a few seconds, the door opens and he sees Monkey standing there and Musaki said, "Hey, Monkey."

"Musaki! How are you, buddy?" asked Monkey, very joyfully.

Musaki chuckled softly and replied, "Pretty good. You?"

"Doing fine. Things have changed a little since you stopped training. But...other than that, we're pretty good." Monkey replied.

Monkey did notice the little silver fox cub poking his head out behind Musaki and he smiled at him and said, "Hey, little buddy. It's your uncle Monkey."

Noah was a little shy and hid behind Musaki and Monkey was a little surprised to see that and he asked, "Was it something I said?"

"No. Noah's just shy. Ever since Danzig passed, he's been a little shy around new people and new surroundings. Luke, on the other hand...adapted to it really well. But both of them are doing well right now." Musaki answered.

Monkey nodded his head in understanding at that and he said, "How's fatherhood treating you?"

"It's going okay. It gets kinda hard though because I have to work and do apprenticeship training at the same time just to provide for Luke and Noah. And these two...they exhaust me a little easily when I play with them, but all in all, it's a real pleasure and a joy to wake up every morning with these two sleeping on my belly." Musaki answered.

Monkey chuckled at that comment and Musaki continued on saying, "I think they see my stomach as their pillow."

A few seconds later, they came in the Hall of Heroes and Musaki showed Luke and Noah where their adopted father spent most of his time when he used to live there and train there and not long after, Musaki asked, "Where's everyone else?"

"Training Hall and most of them are at the barracks." Monkey answered.

"How are they, by the way?" asked Musaki.

"Pretty good. Some of the Hazards have asked about you though." Monkey added.

Minutes later, Musaki followed Musaki over towards the Training Hall and as they came in, they saw most of the masters and the Hazards sparring and training as fast and hard as they've ever been before and he was deeply amazed by how they do and it felt like old times once again.

"Look, boys." Musaki whispered.

Noah and Luke were looking at this and they were amazed and captivated by what they do and almost immediately, Luke got on the ground and attempted to join them, much to Musaki's shock and he said, "Luke, come back here!"

Luke was running towards the training hall and hops onto one of those equipment, totally unaware that Tigress, Takami, Ryo and Faith were on it as well and Faith was the first one to spot the red fox a mile away and she chased him around the training hall and Musaki set Noah to Monkey as he went after Luke and as soon as he got there, he stopped and saw Luke pouncing on Tigress' head, much to the tiger master's annoyance.

"Luke!" Musaki shouted.

"Get this thing off of me!" Tigress exclaimed, trying to remove the red fox cub from her face.

Luke was still grabbing Tigress' head and continued to pounce on her until he dug his paws on Tigress' back and clawed her straight to the butt, making Tigress scream in pain and Musaki immediately came over and yank him from her, but Luke refused to let go and suddenly, he bit her by the tail, making Tigress roar.

That roar was enough to look at Tigress and saw the angriest look she made and Musaki came over to him and said in a stern voice, "Luke...come here."

Luke opened his mouth and quickly came towards Musaki and got in his arms and Musaki lets out a deep sigh, then turned to Tigress and said, "I'm really sorry, Tigress. You're not hurt or anything, are you?"

"Why is this little runt here?" asked Tigress, growled.

"Excuse me...do not call Luke a runt. He just gets easily excited, that's all." Musaki replied.

Most of the Hazards looked over and Faith asked, "Who are these kids?"

"Guys, this is Luke and Noah...my sons." Musaki answered.

All of the Hazards were completely surprised that Musaki has two kids already, but they knew that they were foxes so they were already adopted and Musaki said, "It's a long story."

"They're so cute." Layla said, looking at both of them.

Tigress saw it very differently and just sneered at them and said, "When they're not biting your tail off."

Musaki cleared his throat and looked at her in a semi-stern look and said, "I said I was sorry that happened. Don't put it on Luke. He's just a cub. He didn't know any better."

"If only you would've said no to having them as your own children..." Tigress growled.

Musaki didn't want to make a big scene in front of the kids and thought it was best to just ignore it and pretend like she didn't say anything at all, but Takami interfered quickly and said, "Tigress...can you at least try to be nice? These are Musaki's adopted kids after all."

"You better keep in track of who's side you're on." Tigress growled.

"I'm on my own side." Takami answered.

Musaki took a deep breath and said, "Okay, I know we got off to a bad start, so let's start over again. Hazards, these are my cubs. This is Luke and this is Noah."

"Hello." they all replied.

* * *

At least Tigress has her mind off Max in this scene...but not in the story. Stay tuned for more!

**Voice of Musaki: Samuel Vincent**

**Voice of Faith: Lacey Chabert**

**Voice of Takami: Nolan North**


	12. Questions About Max

And Jason wants to get to know Max a little better before training begins and Max opens up about his past.

* * *

Chapter 12: Questions About Max

The class was about the begin in no less than 30 minutes and as they got ready to prepare, Jason took Max to the side and had a little sit down on the mat and Jason said to him, "You know, you're probably one of my most favorite students here."

Max chuckled and smiled at that compliment and said, "Thanks. I'm your only student though."

Jason nodded in understanding and he lets out a little sigh and said, "Very true. But...we haven't really gotten to know each other a little bit. So I just wanted to know some things about you."

"You do?" asked Max, a little nervous.

"Yeah. I know I'm your teacher, but I can also be your friend too." Jason stated.

Max was a little reluctant to talk about his past because it's too painful to recall, but he knew that he could always trust Jason with everything and it looks like he can talk to him about everything and he took a deep breath, looked at Jason in the eye and said, "Okay. But I gotta tell you...it's not gonna be the most happiest story you'll hear."

Jason was eager to listen to what he has to say and said, "I'm all ears."

"You see...I wasn't always this optimistic and happy before. I was brought up by two birth parents who weren't exactly parents of the year kind of things. They always hated each other, threw stuff at each other, beat each other up and then they'd always make out while they're fighting each other to death. I've seen a lot and heard a lot...too much. Anyways, my birth father has kept me terrified when I was a baby and he would always beat me up for no reason at all. Just...made me feel like I was worthless and I wasn't worth anything, so he'd just beat me, claw me, scratch me, throw me to the wall, the bed and things of that nature. My birth mother wouldn't do anything about it since she blamed me for being born in the world and just allowed it to happen. I later found out that he's an assassin, so I lived in fear since I was a baby. My dad went to jail and I thought it was the least of my problems, but it grew worse when it came to my birth mother and she would do terrible things to me." Max said, pausing at that part.

Jason was completely shocked and surprised by what Max had to endure when he was a baby and he asked, "How terrible?"

"She...she molested me and beat me up, blaming me for being born. I'd get molested by her when I'm asleep and it was like living with two monsters. One day, she felt like I wasn't meant to be a good son and just abandoned me in the rain. Before I knew it, a group of savage wolves were coming at me and they tortured me in worse ways than I can imagine. I ran away from them after six months and they were determined to find me and kill me for escaping. I woke up one day and found myself at Bao Gu Orphanage for a while and some kids were picking on me because of the fact that I'm a white tiger and they see me as a little monster beast or something like that. It was another set of torture for me and it felt like I was all alone again...until Mako came in and took me in his family. At first, I wasn't sure what would happen once I was adopted, but they made me feel like I'm home; they just made me feel loved, safe and protected. I had gained a panda cousin, a wolf brother and some good friends since then and I've had a happier life despite going through a few challenges from being underestimated by Tigress time and time again to being a victim of her jealousy. But I could never hold anything against anyone for too long. I'd give other people a second chance and forgive people so quickly. I've been this positive, optimistic person since I was eight and I would take all those bad experiences I've been through and turn it into something good." Max replied.

After hearing everything from Max, Jason was immediately blown away by everything this cub's been through and has been able to survive and tell his story without holding back shows how strong Max really is and he said, "Man...that was brutal what you went through."

"Very brutal. But I got through it and survived. If I let the tragedy define me, I would've been angry and hated everyone. What's there to hate anyway? What good would that do?" Max explained.

'And I thought what I went through was way worse.' Jason thought to himself.

Jason was almost in the verge of tears after hearing Max's story and he said, "Dude...that really touched my heart. The fact that you had to endure so much hardship at a young age was awful...but how you told your story made me realize that there's something remarkable about you. You really are something special, kid."

"I'm not that special, Jason." Max said, as modest as possible.

"Yeah, you are. It takes that kind of strength to tell your story like that. Do you know how brave you are?" asked Jason.

Max smiled at that comment and he saw a few tears coming out of Jason's eyes and asked, "Are you okay?"

Jason noticed that he was tearing up and he said, "Excuse me for a sec."

With that, Jason walked to the hallway to gather his thoughts for a second, but when Max followed him without Jason knowing, he heard him break down and cry and probably because hearing Max's story made such a big impact on him and telling that story to him really touched him and proved that Max's strength was in his heart and he wasn't afraid to hug Jason for a second.

Jason noticed that Max was hugging him and Jason hugged back as well and he whispered, "I wish I had that courage to tell you what I went through like you did."

* * *

You can tell that both tigers went through personal turmoil on different ends to the table, but Max's optimistic attitude after the event completely inspired Jason to see the best of him. Stay tuned for more!


	13. Strength in Training

And here's where Max's strength shines the most at the MMA class.

* * *

Chapter 13: Strength in Training

3:00 pm

Both Jason and Max were ready for training at the MMA training room and before long, both tigers came in the ring together and Jason stood on one side while Max stands at another, ready to show each other how strong they can be and Jason stared at Max with much serious conviction while Max looks at him straight in the eye with no intention of backing down. Jason looks at him and said, "Go for it."

Right away, Max immediately charges at Jason head-on, but Jason quickly ducked and dodged every single move Max has made and continued to spar with the white tiger as hard as he could, but Jason kept going at him and he reacted very swiftly by pinning Max down and wrestling him down to the ground, but Max came swinging and wrestled him down to the ground as well with his quick moves and fast agility.

Jason was amazed by how he reacted quickly and went on the defense and he's trying to keep up with the little cub and he got up, dusted himself off and continued sparring with each other and they combined elements of kung-fu and MMA together and Max was more determined than ever to go above the extra mile with his training, but not too high maintenance.

"Come on, Max. Take me on." Jason said.

"I'll do more than that." Max said, with a smirk.

Max immediately did a backflip and grabbed Jason by the wrist and flipped him multiple times, but Jason made a huge comeback by flipping him to the wall, but Max landed on his feet to the wall instead...which also surprised Jason the most and as Max ran towards the ceiling, he grabbed onto the chandeliers, swung around and he did an extraordinary free-fall by doing a backflip in the air and landed on top of Jason, thereby putting him in a flipmode hold.

Jason was ecstatic by how Max attempted that move and he stood up and chuckled softly at this and said, "Amazing."

"Thanks." Max replied.

"I think you got me beat, man. I don't know how you managed to do those moves as young as you are." Jason replied.

Max lets out an innocent giggle and Jason chuckled softly at that and he does see a whole lot of potential in Max and he said, "All right...now that we got the sparring out of the way, let's focus on aiming at your opponent. The best way to take aim at them is to find out their weak spots."

"How do you do that?" asked Max.

"It's very simple. Just look directly into your opponent and if he lets his guard down a little bit, that's where you have to attack." Jason added.

Max nodded his head and Jason brought in a little example for this subject and brought in a Tigress training dummy and that was pretty much easier for him to focus on and he's deeply excited for the usage of that dummy version of Tigress and Jason could tell that he's getting excited about that and he said, "I'm guessing you like this dummy?"

"Uh-huh." Max replied.

"Let's see how fast you can go." Jason said.

Max nodded his head and immediately attacked the living crap out of the Tigress dummy and every single act of insanity that he's gone through with her gets to be released by taking it out on the dummy and he used every single amount of kung-fu/MMA training hybrid to use and from the looks of things, Jason was amazed by Max's quick wit, fast moves, agility and everything else under the sun and there was no shortage of being impressed whatsoever.

The biggest factor of that is watching Max reach his maximum potential and he did an aerial air kick, which sent the dummy flying across the room and finally Max climbed onto the ring, did a backflip and re-kicked it again and this time...it was hurtling through the ground and landed on the wall hard.

Jason witnessed that happening and once Max got down on the ground, he asked, "How'd I do?"

Jason was still awestruck and speechless after witnessing that and he couldn't even speak or move for that matter because he's never seen anything like that before or since and he looked at Max for a second and wondered how all of that came out of such a little cub and he said, "I'm so honored to have you as my student, man."

"Thanks!" Max replied, happily.

The two ended up giving each other a fist bump and they continued on training with each other, unaware that Tigress was standing through the window, looking furious and heavily envious that he's still training with Jason and just felt like he's a threat regarding the fact that he's training him and the more she thought about Max not being at the Jade Palace, the more furious she became...even when he has been present.

"You're gonna regret this...both of you." Tigress growled.

* * *

Uh-oh...Tigress' envy is going out of control? What's gonna happen next?


	14. Envious Spark

And the envy turns for the worse.

* * *

Chapter 14: Envious Spark

At the Jade Palace, most of the students were completely aware of Tigress' intense mood and wondered what was going on with her, but Po and Monkey were the only ones that did know something's going on and it had something to do with Max not being around the palace often and Takami said, "Okay...something tells me the vibe is getting a lot tense here."

"You think it's tense? I almost wiped my face with Ryo's underwear yesterday." Kiba added, still grossed out.

Ryo lets out a very cocky smirk directly at Kiba and said, "That's what you get for putting water on my bed. Thanks to you, I had to sleep with my underwear...in Skyler's room! Do you know how many times I've been kicked by her when she's asleep?"

"I'm pretty sure it's countless times I heard you scream like a girl." Kiba added.

Ryo growled at Kiba for that comment and he glared at him and wanted nothing more than to punch him straight to the face and Takami broke this up immediately and said, "Can you guys put this off right now?"

"Takami's right. Your immature, childish behavior will not get anywhere." Shifu added, with a hint of warning.

"Okay, I seriously don't understand what's up with Tigress. I mean, she's been more intense when she's training and sparring with me and she always gets angry even when I say 'hi' to her." Takami added.

"Maybe she has a bad mood." Kiba added.

Everyone glared at Kiba for that assumption and Crane said, "She always has a bad mood."

Shifu lets out a deep sigh and wondered what all of this could mean and even he couldn't understand why she's getting way more intense lately and he said, "Can someone explain the reason why she's even more furious?"

"It might have something to do with Max." Po spat out.

Layla was the most shocked to hear that come out of Po and said, "Max? Why him?"

"Did you notice that Max doesn't come to the Jade Palace like he always does lately?" asked Viper.

All of them were completely surprised by how much Max wasn't around much at the Palace and they all agreed by that factor since Max usually spends his time at the MMA training class and Ligress said, "I'm guessing that this was the reason why Tigress has been so tense."

"That's kinda impossible. I mean, Max and Tigress may be rivals, but I don't think that's the whole case." Mantis added.

"Tigress and Max are rivals?" asked Ligress, confusedly.

Takami could tell that Ligress wanted to know the full story behind this and he lets out a sigh and said, "In many ways. It sounds kinda weird, but Tigress can't stand to be in the same room or environment Max is standing there."

All of a sudden, Tigress burst through the door with a very angry and furious-enraged expression on her face as she's walking past them and she could tell that they were staring at her and she stopped, tensed up, turned around and asked, "What are all of you looking at?! If you got something to say, say it!"

Ligress was the first one to say something and asked, "So...what's with you and Max?"

Tigress got visibly upset that she brought it up and shouted, "Don't you DARE mention that little monster here again! Understood?!"

Then, that answer was confirmed that it was about Max and Kiba seemed really disturbed to hear that she's angry at Max and thought that he'd keep his mouth shut about it and Viper asked, "If I may interject...what's your problem with Max now?"

"None of your business, you nosy snake." Tigress replied, with a cold tone.

Viper dropped her jaw after Tigress called her a nosy snake and that was a cold move and she hissed at her and asked, "What did you just call me?!"

"You heard me! Don't bring up Max ever again! He's nothing but a troublemaker!" Tigress shouted.

Shifu got right in front of her with a very furious look and said, "I'm not gonna have you disrespect Max again!"

"He just makes me so angry! Something you don't even understand!" Tigress roared.

"Can you help us understand?! Yelling at us isn't gonna help matters." Layla added.

Tigress took a deep sigh, but still kept her anger coming in and she said, "I saw Max training with that Jason fellow at the MMA facility."

"Oh, you mean J? He's an awesome trainer." Kiba added, happily.

Tigress felt offended when Kiba referred to Jason as an awesome trainer and snarled at him as a response and Kiba kept his mouth shut afterwards and Shifu couldn't see what's the issue from that and said, "And this bothers you why?"

"Why should Max train with this stranger when he should've been training with me?! At the Jade Palace?!" Tigress shouted.

Po had to play mediator towards the whole situation and he said, "I thought that you never wanted Max around the Jade Palace."

"That was before he took that offering at the MMA training class." Tigress replied.

"Didn't you also say that you're sick of him being around some of us here that he'd be better off staying home?" asked Po.

"If you keep reminding everything that I said, I will thrash you down like yesterday's trash!" Tigress spat out.

Po wasn't gonna back down for anything, even though that threat could be possible and something clicked in him that the reason why Tigress continued to rant about Max was her way of saying that she can't deal with Max not being around the Jade Palace as much as he used to before and asked, "You miss Max being around, do you?"

That triggered a shock on Tigress that he'd make an assumption that she misses Max and turns to him and replied, "What would make you think that I miss him?"

"You're jealous of Jason and Max training together, aren't you?" asked Po.

* * *

Stay tuned to see how crazy it will get!

**Voice of Crane: Amir Talai**

**Voice of Mantis: Max Koch**

**Voice of Ligress: Tara Strong**


	15. Maximus in the Middle

And the tension mounts when the subject about Max reaches the boiling point...and what's worse; Max is actually here to witness it.

* * *

Chapter 15: Maximus in the Middle

That was the sudden question that made Tigress go from angry tense to turnt up tense in a millisecond and she gave Po another dangerous glare from her and the others couldn't do anything but freeze up and not saying anything at all and she said, "I am not jealous!"

Po, on the other hand...wasn't really that convinced as he folded his arms and said, "I don't believe you."

"I may be agitated and irritated and slightly annoyed, but I am not jealous of Max!" Tigress shouted, in defense.

"I still don't believe you, Tigress. Ever since what happened a few months ago, you've been increasing your jealousy towards Max lately." Po stated.

The Hazards started to get a little surprised by what Po said about what had happened a few months ago that they had no idea about and Takami was getting curious about this and wanted to know if things had gotten bad or worse between Max and Tigress, but Tigress felt like Po was stop at nothing until she unveils the truth and she said, "How many times do I have to say it, Po? I am not jealous of Max!"

"If you're not really jealous of Max, why can't you just let Max do his own thing?" asked Po.

"I kinda did catch her lurking in the MMA facility each time Max trains with Jason and it's like...something snapped in her." Monkey pointed out.

"Was anyone talking to you?!" Tigress shouted.

Takami walked towards Tigress and he wanted to know what's gotten into her lately and doesn't want to be left in the dark too long and asked, "What has happened between you and Max?"

"It's none of your business, Takami." Tigress replied.

Takami blinked his eyes for this and he still needed to know what's been going on and he said, "Please tell me."

"What is there to tell?! I'm not jealous of that cub!" Tigress exclaimed.

"If you're not jealous, then why do you get angry each time I ask you about Max?" asked Takami.

The questions would continue to mount and Tigress felt like she was gonna pop off at any minute and as much as she tried to avoid it, that tactic would ultimately fail with each attempt and she felt increasingly frustrated and agitated at the same time until this one question pushed her to the limit.

"You miss Max being here at the Jade Palace?" asked Kovu.

That was it. She lost it and she lets out a huge roar and went in to attack Kovu for asking such a question and the others tried to hold her back, but Tigress refused to let them stop her and just lost control of herself as she attacked Kovu fiercely, but Kovu used one of his four elemental powers to stop her in self-defense and also punched her in the face hard.

The sight of her losing control of her anger was a sign that deeply confirms that there is a huge amount of jealousy and resentment between her and Max and it was evidently clear to everyone.

Just then, the door opens and everyone saw Max, Jason, Arizona and Musaki coming in the Hall of Heroes and when they saw the vibe around here, they were a little concerned and they saw Tigress on the floor, looking completely furious for some reason. Max looked at the others and said, "Is this a bad time?"

Once Tigress heard Max's voice, her natural instincts overtook her as she stood up and said, "You... you dare come in this palace now?!"

"Do we have to do this today?" asked Max, really exasperated.

"This is all your fault! None of this would've ever happened if you would've still trained here at the Jade Palace! Why is it that you stopped coming here?! Are you too embarrassed or ashamed to come here?! Why would you show your damn face around here in the first place?!" Tigress shouted, pointing the finger directly at Max while snarling and seething, which made Max very uncomfortable and the others on edge because they've never seen her like this, especially towards a young tiger cub.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa...hold on one second." Musaki said, trying to calm the situation down.

"This has nothing to do with you whatsoever, Musaki! It's between me and Max!" Tigress growled.

Jason was really surprised to see Tigress act like this in front of Max and this was a big departure from the person he met the other day and he said, "If I may injercet here, could you tell me what this is all about?"

"And YOU! How dare you replace me as Max's trainer! I'm the original trainer here and I don't need someone standing in MY way! You've had fair warning and you'll pay the full penalty!" Tigress exclaimed, unsheathing her claws, ready to attack him.

Something tells Jason that this wasn't the same warrior that he met the other day and it's like she's ready for a fight and somehow...it's about Max. Jason blinked his eyes for a second and said, "I'm not here to fight you."

"What's the matter? Why can't you use your MMA to fight me?! Nobody owns Max but me!" Tigress spat out.

Max was getting completely agitated with this whole thing and he said, "You don't own me."

"Shut up! You're in enough trouble as it is!" Tigress screamed.

"Trouble?! Wh-wh-what did I even do?!" Max asked, getting flabbergasted.

Shifu knew that this was gonna start over again and he had no other choice but to interfere and he quickly got in the middle between Jason and Tigress and said, "That's quite enough, Tigress!"

"Why are you taking his side?!" Tigress spat out.

"I'm not taking anyone's side, Tigress. I'm just here to stop you before you do something you'll deeply regret." Shifu replied, angrily.

Jason could tell that this is a very personal matter and that he should not be caught in the middle of it and in a very calm voice, he said, "Okay...I think it's time we'd go."

Shifu turned to Jason and he said, "Please forgive my student for she knows not what she's doing."

"I know what I'm doing! I'm here to reclaim what is rightfully mine! I train Max! No one else can train him because I'm the best of the best!" Tigress shouted.

Max couldn't understand why he's caught in the middle, but he knows he hated that feeling and said, "Why am I involved in all this?!"

Jason calmly looked at Max for a second and he said, "Let's get out of here, Max."

"No one's going anywhere! Not until you fight me!" Tigress angrily demanded.

"I'm not gonna fight you." Jason replied.

Tigress struck the first punch directly to Jason's face and began to thrash him around, kick, punch, claw, slam and bash him straight until Jason had no other choice but to fight her back and she kept going at him with many thrashings and when she threw him down the ground, Jason grunted in pain and he stood up with a few bumps and scrapes, but remained calm through it all and he said, "I'm still not gonna fight you."

"I'll keep going at you until you do fight me." Tigress growled.

"For Max? Come on! What kind of example are you setting for Max?" asked Jason.

Tigress immediately lunged after him, but without thinking or warning, Max got in the way and she lunged at the tiger cub instead and violently thrashed him down while Max was screaming in pain and all the Hazards were very fearful of this and Takami interfered immediately by stopping the fight, pulling Tigress back right away and Max was whimpering in fear and once Jason saw Max being so scared, it was clear that these two tigers have very bad bitter blood.

"Why'd you stop me?!" Tigress shouted.

"You were gonna kill Max!" Takami shouted back.

Suddenly, Tigress realized that she was blinded by jealousy once again and that she nearly took Max's life again and she stormed out of the Hall of Heroes in a fit of frustration rage and everyone else was standing there, speechless and motionless at the same time and Kiba asked, "What was that all about?"

* * *

Looks like the rivalry took a turn for the worse...and Tigress completely lost it. Where will the others go from there?


	16. Protective Trainer

And the aftermath of that confrontation between Jason, Max and Tigress is reaching in.

* * *

Chapter 16: Protective Trainer

Nearly an hour have passed by after that chaotic event and most of the Hazards were shocked after what had happened and Layla was the most shocked out of the masters, but Arizona and Musaki weren't that surprised that Tigress took her anger out on Max once again and Jason was still stunned by those events that occured and he asked, "Why did she do that to my student?"

"Jason...let's just say that Max and Tigress have been rivals for a few years now." Musaki replied.

"Rivals? Like fighting rivals?" asked Jason.

"Actually, it's more like competing on getting the most attention. Max has been around the Jade Palace for three years after being adopted by our family and he spends a lot of time with the masters and the Hazards and Tigress...she felt like he was the golden child and have the most attention and she felt like he's a threat when it comes to who trains him or who spends time with who and she gets resentful of his positive attitude and after all the stuff that he's been through, he got over it." Arizona explained.

Jason widened his eyes at that particular explanation and said, "Has that happened before?"

"Rare occasions...but a few months ago, Tigress' jealousy got the best of her and it got so dangerous that she almost took his life when he defended his dragon friend and brought him to the Valley and she accused some of the Five for being disloyal to her when they didn't and that she blamed Max for it." Musaki added.

All of the Hazards were disturbed to hear that Tigress nearly killed Max in a fit of a jealous rage and it even shocked Takami, Layla, Kiba and Ligress after hearing this and Kiba said, "That's...that's an unforgivable act."

"Why?" asked Takami.

"That's a good question. Ever since that happened, Tigress has been keeping a close distance away from Max and I guess since he got into the MMA class, she felt like she's being bitter towards him for not being around as much, even though tension between the two has been far greater when he is present." Shifu answered.

"Man...how did Max recover from all of this?" asked Jason.

"It's a thing with Max that he forgives very easily and Tigress never really understood why he would forgive so easily and it drives her crazy." Arizona added.

Jason was definitely surprised to hear that even after being mistreated and stuff like that, Max would always give her a second chance or so and he chuckled softly and said, "Very remarkable."

"Yeah, Max really is an awesome guy. You picked a pretty good student." Layla added.

Max walks in the room with the others and everyone said 'hi' to him and he walked towards Jason's side and he asked, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I've been through worse before." Jason replied.

"Worse?" asked Max.

"Of course." Jason added.

Shifu looks up at Jason and he said, "I'm glad that both of you are okay. Rest assured, this situation will be handled swiftly and surely."

* * *

So...how will it be worked out? Stay tuned for more!


	17. Reminder

And Jason gets to hear something about his student that he has no idea about.

* * *

Chapter 17: Reminder

As Musaki, Max, Jason and Arizona walked down the palace steps, they were completely overwhelmed by the results that had occured on that visit and it was not what they expected, yet at the same time when it involved Max and Tigress, it was unsurprising for Musaki, Arizona and Max...but very surprising for Jason who witnessed that.

"I have no idea she would do things like that. I mean, I knew she had some sorts of anger tendencies, but I never knew that one was severe." Jason said.

Musaki knew Tigress' anger very well and how explosive she can be if her anger took control of herself and said, "Trust me, you don't know the half of it. Tigress has gotten to it with Max since he was eight or nine and most of the Jade Palace masters and the Hazards took notice of him and spent a little time with them individually and Tigress' growing jealousy of Max started when he was spending a little time with Takami, Layla and Po. She started thinking that they like him better than her and that he was taking over all of their attention instead of her."

"But we found out later that there was more to the story than that...a little deeper, I guess you could say." Arizona added.

"How deep are we saying?" asked Jason.

"Tigress' jealousy of Max turns to bitter resentment because of all the things he went through in his early life; from being emotionally and physically abused by his birth parents, his mother molesting him, being abandoned by his own mother, getting tortured by savage wolves and picked on at the orphanage. You'd think after all of that, he would've hardened his heart and be an angry person out of it, but Max went the other way. He took all of those hardships he suffered and turned it into positives. He's grateful, happy and he's a survivor. It's amazing on how much a young person can get through all of that and end up being a happy guy." Musaki said.

"And that's the issue between him and Tigress; because of what he's gone through and compared to what she went through at the orphanage, Tigress never fully recovered from those horrific memories she endured. They're at the same orphanage, but never met together...in case you were wondering. Tigress was called the 'M' word thousands of times and got made fun of because she was a tiger and never seemed to get through that or got over it. Max, on the other hand...did get over it and has been very happy and easily forgivable about it. He told me that he looks at those as funny stories one time. I'm constantly blown away by how strong he's become. And that's the problem...Tigress never got over it and Max did and she wished that it was the other way around and that she can be forgivable like Max is and not treat people badly because of her attitude." Arizona added.

Jason was almost speechless for a minute there and he turned to Max for a second and said, "Wow...you're like the real deal, man."

"Oh, stop it. I'm not that special." Max said, as humbly as possible.

"Yeah, you are. You have a very pure heart, Max. You see the good in people who can be sometimes a bit of a nuisance themselves and always see the best in people instead of the worst." Jason added.

"That's because I spend time with them and at least try to get to know them a little better." Max answered.

Jason nods his head and has a much better understanding with Max now than ever before and it made him felt like he's made a difference within himself and it's like Max is the teacher instead of the student...in some sort of weird yet spiritual way that would benefit his own personal life and realized that Max is one of those special students.

"Which reminds me...Jason, would you like to meet my family for dinner sometime? My adopted parents want to meet you." Max said.

That was a first that Jason never expected to hear...being invited by his own student to have dinner with them with his family and he was a little speechless and Max was waiting for his answer and it took a few seconds for Jason to have his response and said, "Of course."

"Sweet." Max said.

"Cool with me. So...I guess I'll see you at training tomorrow." Jason said.

"Of course." Max said, with a smile.

All four of them walked in separate ways back to their homes and Arizona wanted to do more than he can to kibosh Tigress' rivalry with Max because at some point, Max will grow tired of this when he gets older and it'll get old fast and he kept his eye out for both tigers, but mostly Max for protection and well-being.

* * *

Jason and Max's relationship has started to grow more outside of MMA training. Stick around for more!


	18. Got the Acception

And here's some awesome news about Jason...

* * *

Chapter 18: Got the Acception

As soon as they got back home, dinner was already starting and when they sat down, Sierra asked them, "What took you guys so long?"

Arizona leaned over to give Sierra a kiss on the cheek and replied, "Sorry about that. We were coming in for a quick 'hello', but instead...Tigress came swinging on Max."

"Again?" asked Sierra.

"Yep." Arizona added.

"Did she even apologize?" asked Sierra?

Arizona sighed at that question and he quickly nodded his head stating that was a 'no' and Sierra could tell that this is getting completely far out of hand and she said, "I think I might handle this myself one of these days."

"And the first thing she'd do is kick you in the girly crotch." Yow-Ni spat out.

"That's uvula, stupid. You have to say it in order to get some. I've told you this a million times before, Yow." Sage said, gritting his teeth.

Sierra responded with a very stern growl directed at Yow-Ni and Sage for saying that in front of her and also to little Jacob and she said, "Do you two even have any class?"

"What class?" Sage asked, belching.

Yow-Ni started laughing at this and started passing gas in front of everyone and Sage gave him a fist bump for that and succeeded into farting loudly and that caused most of the others to be very uncomfortable and Max glared at both of them and said, "People are eating here."

"So? It ain't like we're hurting anyone." Sage said, with a scowl.

"No...but your childish behavior is starting to get on everyone's nerves...and everyone's eating." Mako said, between clenched teeth.

Max cleared his throat to avoid any unpleasant humor between the two wolves, he said, "Well...I asked Jason if he was to come over to dinner soon at our house and he said that he'd love to."

"Wonderful. Can he come this weekend?" asked Mako.

"I'll let him know about it." Max replied.

Soon after, Sage stuffed some kung-pao chicken under his pants while Yow-Ni scratched his butt and the inside of his pants and Sierra just glared at them with a hint of disgust and whispered, "Boys..."

* * *

Stay tuned for more!

**Voice of Sierra: Kelly Hu**

**Voice of Yow-Ni: Josh Keaton**

**Voice of Sage: T.J. Miller**


	19. Argument Between Teacher and a Student

And the effects of Tigress' jealous rage on Max spills over into Takami's curiosity to get the information on why they're at odds with each other.

* * *

Chapter 19: Argument Between Teacher and Student

Back at the Jade Palace, Takami was still in deep shock after hearing that Tigress had attempted to kill Max in front of the villagers some months ago and the fact that everyone else knew except for him and the other Hazards really made him dumbfounded to know that his own teacher-his own tiger master, which he respects and looks up to the most-would be capable of nearly taking the life of an innocent, defenseless tiger cub who has already been through a lot and didn't do anything to deserve it.

Soon enough, he made his way to the Training Hall and as he opened the door, he could see the entire place look like it's been destroyed by a tsunami-tornado hybrid on the inside, only to see that it was Tigress just punching the snap out of the dummy with so much fury and anger inside of her and Takami could tell that he was gonna brace himself in case something goes down between the two of them.

"We need to talk." Takami stated.

Tigress was still punching the living crap out of the dummy and she said, "So talk."

Takami took a deep breath as he was ready to ask her the question because he knew that it involves Max and he replied, "What happened back there earlier?"

Tigress could sense that Takami is bringing up Max and she tensed up a little bit and asked, "It's none of your business, Takami. It's between me and Max."

"If it was, then why did you fight him and his trainer right in front of us?" asked Takami.

Tigress stopped punching the dummy and refused to face Takami because she knew that he was gonna eventually find out for himself and only responded, "Because I wanted to fight."

"For no reason? Why'd you have to put Max in the middle. This is what I don't understand coming from you." Takami explained.

Tigress balled her fists up from the minute Takami asks about Max and could never change the subject and she knew that the subject would never be changed unless Takami wants a straight answer from his own master and the thought of Takami defending Max sickens her to no end and she asked, "Why are you taking his side?"

Takami got flabbergasted by that remark she just made and asked, "Why would I take his side? I'm just trying to understand what's going on between you two."

"You're supposed to be MY student! How dare you be disloyal to me!" Tigress shouted, facing him in a fury.

"I'm not being disloyal to you!" Takami shouted, nearly getting fired up.

"Everytime I see you with that cub, it's like you pay more attention to him and Layla even spends time with you more! What does Max have that I don't have?!" Tigress shouted.

Takami didn't know how to respond to that question, but he can tell that Tigress was getting all tensed up and it was clear that there's a huge amount of jealousy and bitterness involving Max and it was a better chance to not answer that question, but did tell her, "You don't want me to answer that."

Tigress just exhaled deeply and just felt like there's no sense of talking to Takami and said, "Just forget about it."

Takami still wanted to know more though as he asked her, "So...why did you cause Max harm?"

"If you're gonna ask more questions about Max, you will seriously risk getting slaughtered!" Tigress screamed, at the top of her lungs.

But that was a chance that Takami was willing to take as he refused to back down from the subject and said, "Why did you almost kill him? He's a little cub! He didn't deserve that!"

"I'm warning you, Takami!" Tigress roared.

"No! I'm not backing down until you tell me!" Takami roared back.

Tigress was seething heavily and she feels like she's losing control of her own student and she unsheathed her claws to get at him for bringing Max up in front of her and it was like she was gonna viciously attack him and Takami was willing to fight her off to get some answers and he brought himself into a basic stance in case she starts up.

"Drop the subject, Takami. Max means nothing to me." Tigress growled.

"I'm not gonna drop the subject. I just need to know why you hate Max so much." Takami replied, looking at her.

"I DO NOT HATE MAX!" Tigress shouted.

Just then, Shifu burst in the door and saw two tigers ready to go at each other and placed himself in the middle to end it before it even begins and he angrily shouted, "There will be no amount of fighting between the two of you! Now I demand to know what is going on here!"

"Tell Takami he has no right to ask me about Max!" Tigress shouted.

Shifu turned to Tigress for a second and he glared at her and said, "I believe Takami does deserve an explanation about your behavior towards the cub. You know very well that I'm too old to handle this situation! And quite frankly, you should be quite ashamed of yourself for trying to go after your student!"

"That's not your concern, Shifu! It's between me and Max!" Tigress shouted.

Shifu lets out an angry grunt and he knew that Tigress refused to tell Takami and thought up of another alternative. He bluntly stated, "Very well...if you won't, then I will. How about that?"

Tigress felt the shock factor coming out of her stomach the minute Shifu said that he'll tell Takami himself and felt like she wanted to personally attack her master for that ultimatum, but she knew that there was nothing she could do about it when it comes to Shifu's ways of discipline and has been powerless to stop him.

Shifu turned to Takami and explained everything to him about the rivalry between her and Max; mentioning everything from her jealousy towards the cub, training him harder and brutally, treating him like he's nothing, her anger towards him about him being the Golden Child of the Jade Palace, envious about his accomplishments at a younger age, his positive attitude towards others, easy forgiveness and even explained to Takami the reason why she unleashed her rage towards him that day when she nearly took his life because of that jealousy and for defending his dragon friend Blaze.

After Takami heard everything from Shifu, his reaction was of shock and a little bit of outrage, but not too much. He faced Tigress as he saw her head hanging down in shame and he walked over to her and asked, "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

She didn't bother saying anything as she ran out of the Training Hall in ultimate shame and semi-humiliation after all this and it left both Takami and Shifu a little speechless, but Takami was the most shocked after all of this and he said, "Well...I guess that answers that question."

* * *

Man...Shifu told Tigress off big time. Where does it go from here? Next up...Max finds something out about Jason that he never knew before.


	20. Facts About Jason

And Max gets to see what Jason is like when he's not training or teaching.

* * *

Chapter 20: Facts About Jason

By the next day, Max showed up at the MMA facility a little early while he's waiting for Blackhawk, Tae Kwan Do and Logan to arrive and he takes some time to just wander around a little bit and walked to the MMA training room where he and Jason train at and thought he'd pass the time to just do a little bit of kung-fu/MMA hybrid moves for a little mini-practice run before the lesson begins as soon as Jason comes in.

Suddenly, he heard a couple of noises somewhere above and being the curious cub that he is, he decides to go investigate where that came from and to Max's surprise, it came from upstairs...to which he had no idea there was actually one in the hallway and he walks up the steps and kept following the sounds until he reached another upstairs hallway and the sounds grow closer and closer and closer until it hit the most unlikely places he'd find.

As he comes to a room, he takes a little peek onto a keyhole on the door and saw someone standing there with multiple scars and marks on someone's back and he wanted to see who it really was and the second the person turned around...he was immediately familiarized with the face.

"Jason?" Max whispered.

Max could not believe that it was Jason in that place...and what's more, he had no idea that he lived on top of the MMA facility the whole time and never knew that there was a little side of him he'd never seen before...but instead of running away in fear, he stayed there to see what else is going on.

On the other side of the door, a shirtless Jason was pacing around back and forth in deep anxiety and frustration with himself and he looked at himself in the mirror and as he was staring at himself, he could still see the little mad-as-hell and reckless teenage tiger that used to cause mayhem on the streets when it comes to MMA and an avid streetfighter and the more he sees of it, the more his past won't leave him alone.

At some point, he placed his paws around his head and face, trying his best to not see it, but all of those thoughts keep running over his head and it took control of him and at some point, he punched the crap out of the mirror very quickly, glass shattering all over. Blood was around his knuckles a lot as Jason panted heavily and realized what he just did.

"Aw, man...not again. No matter what I do, I'll never get rid of the person I was...even if I tried. How can Max see me like this?" Jason said, groaning.

Unbeknownst to Jason, Max saw everything and saw another side of Jason he never saw coming...and he felt absoultely sorry for him and a part of him wants to come in the room and give him a huge hug and comfort him like a big brother...which is what Max sees in Jason as not just a trainer or a teacher, but a tiger brother. Someone he can understand and relate to and relate to their sufferings and struggles they've had.

Jason panted heavily and lets out a deep sigh as a few tears came out of his eyes as he got himself up, got some shaolin wraps to heal the bloody knuckles he's got and attempted to sweep the broken glass and once he was done, he couldn't help but wonder if someone might be spying on him.

Max has a little sense that Jason would catch him in the act and before he got a chance to escape, Jason immediately peered through the keyhole to see who it was and Max stood there, caught with one blue eye.

Jason was ultimately surprised by recognizing who it was and when Max backed away a little to show himself more, that's when the shock factor kicked in.

With that, Jason opened the door and saw Max standing there and he said, "Max?"

"Hi, Jason." Max said, as innocently as possible.

* * *

Caught! What's gonna happen now? Don't worry...Max isn't in trouble. Jason's gonna let Max inside his personal life a little bit.


	21. The Truth About Jason

And Jason reveals the truth about himself on his life before he became an MMA instructor and student.

* * *

Chapter 21: The Truth About Jason

Jason blinked his eyes after staring at Max for a second and he was a little surprised that he was standing there the whole time without knowing and Max nervously stared at him back, but did see some shaolin wraps around his hands and fingers and that confirmed that there was something more to his trainer than he never thought he saw before. Jason broke the silence and asked, "How did you find me?"

"I kinda heard some noises downstairs at our training room." Max answered.

And that made Jason close his eyes for a few seconds and never thought that Max would actually hear them and covered his face with his paw and he asked, "How much did you see?"

"All of it." Max replied.

Jason took a few sharp breaths and Max wasn't sure what Jason was gonna do next, but he's way more concerned about his teacher than himself and hopes that he'll help him in some way and Jason said, "Come in, Max."

With that, Max enters in Jason's room and when Max looks around there, it wasn't the most home-oriented room there, but at least Jason has a little roof over his head and Jason followed behind him and he said, "So...this is where I've been living for almost a year now. Headmaster Wing tried to make it as comfortable as possible, but it's fine. It's kinda temporary though..."

"Temporary?" asked Max.

"Yeah, just until I find a place of my own. But...I don't have any money for it right now." Jason added.

Max nodded his head at that answer and he bit his lower lip and asked, "How'd you get the scratches on your back?"

That must've caught his attention because Max had already seen it and Jason tried to find a little excuse for it, but knowing that Max is a kid, the most painful thing he has to do is tell the truth in order for him to be an honest instructor and he replied, "Those are the scars I got when I was a teenager...when I got involved in some streetfighting."

Max's eyes widened in shock and surprise after hearing that fact and realized there was more to Jason than he thought and asked, "Streetfighting?"

"Yeah. I never wanted to tell you this story because you might be too young to understand and that you might be scared of me." Jason said, a little worried.

Max got a little closer to Jason and he said, "Just tell me everything, Jason. I've told you my past and you can do the same."

Realizing that Max has opened up about his past, Jason was more than willing to do the same...even though it might be hard to let out some personal demons inside of himself. He took a deep breath and looked at Max directly in the eye and gave out his whole story.

"I haven't always been like this before, you know. I was pretty much a rebel...a troublemaker of some sorts. Where I came from, I never had a father to guide me because he divorced my mom when I was three and left her for another girl that he had a cub with. I'm not gonna get to the details on that, but...it put a strain on my parents. My mom ended up with a stepfather who's pretty much a jerk and I wanted nothing to do with him whatsoever...so I resented him and my mom for that. When I got older, I was pretty much hard to deal with. My only outlet was fighting in the streets and MMA. MMA really got me interested because I can fight a lot faster than anyone else, but I didn't care about going in the right direction. I just wanted some attention and guidance, you know? Man, did I get that in the worst way possible. I had fallen into the wrong crowd when I was 16 with a gang that was all about fighting, stealing and causing all kinds of mayhem. I didn't care what anyone would say or do and the first instinct I did when someone tries to stop me was to fight them until they leave me alone. I was pretty much cold-hearted and brutal towards anyone and I had a very quick temper. Just the messiest temper I ever had in my life and I was pretty much destroying myself on purpose, knowing that I could provoke everyone's expectations of what I was supposed to be. One day...one of my stupid antics got me in trouble. I mean...big trouble." Jason said, tearing up at the last part.

"What did you do, Jason?" Max asked.

"I...I brutally beat up my stepfather and my dad's fiancee for revenge. I nearly killed both of them and I was blinded by bitter bad blood between them and my parents that I felt that this was the only way to show them how I felt and blamed them for the whole reason. Your parents divorced...can make you think of insane things like that. After that, the guards obviously saw what I did and I left there in handcuffs and got sent to prison and I was charged with aggravated assault along with a bunch of other charges; disorderly conduct, attempted assault, arson, vandalism, indecent exposure, damage of public and private property, disturbing the peace, resisting arrest, eluding, gang involvement activity, malicious mischief. That's pretty much every charge I've had. I was 18 at the time and as I got sent to prison, it really sinks in after hearing those doors close. Prison...not a fun place to live at." Jason admitted.

Max had no idea that Jason was that much of a troublemaker at an early age and all the stuff he did and went through and all of it was before he was even an adult and Jason looked at Max in the eye and Max asked, "Why'd you do it?"

"Because at the time...I thought that if I were to do those things, it would make me cooler and be accepted as their family. What I learned before I got arrested...the gang I was with didn't even stick up for me. They just left me before the guards could even find them and I was the only one beating up my stepfather and my dad's fiancee. That's what I learned that the gang life brings in some consequences...losing your gang family after they abandon you and you're the only one getting arrested. The charges for attempted assault, disturbing the peace and malicious mischief ended up getting dropped because I wasn't involved in them at all. As for the others, I pleaded guilty to all of them and because of it, I was sentenced to less than 2 years in prison and as I walked out of the courtroom, my parents were disappointed in me and I was very angry with myself for being involved in stuff like this. During that time, all I did was just cry and I blamed myself for being into these stupid things and I knew I would never forgive myself for all the things that I've done. It made me reflect on everything I've been through and I just took one look at myself in the mirror and said to myself, 'Why did you waste your young life in favor of a life of crime?' I ended up losing everything; my childhood, my family, my friends, my self-respect and my freedom. My father died and my mother was murdered while I was in prison and it just tore me apart. Like...really bad. So...I decided to just cut off all the bad stuff I've done and if I was gonna control my anger, I need to make a change. I finally got out of prison after spending 18 months for good behavior and I was determined to leave my old life behind to start over. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do because I was still mad at myself for my stupidity...but Headmaster Wing came into my life less than two weeks after I left prison and he heard that I was good at fighting and he took me in to teach me how to fight in a positive way instead of destructive ways and he's been like the father I never had growing up. He's the one that gave me that job to teach MMA to kids and it's not about the money...but to volunteer my time and also be a student in the process. So far...my first student that I taught was you. And for some reason, I always felt like I was not alone when I train with you, let alone in the same species...but you're the main reason for my redemption." Jason finished.

Max was blown away by that response Jason received...from the last part, that is. He asked, "Why me?"

"Max...ever since we started training, you've been one of those special students that brought out the best in anyone despite their dark past. You brought out the best in me and you just made me look forward to waking up every morning to be the best trainer and fighter I can be." Jason added.

"Really? I never thought I could do that." Max answered.

"It's true. You really inspire me, Max. And I just want you to know...that I'm really proud to call you my first student." Jason said, tears coming out of his eyes.

Max smiled at this and hugged Jason tightly in response, making the instructor a little surprised at first, but eventually hugged him back and Jason whispered, "Thank you so much...for making me a better person."

"Anytime, Jason." Max said, smiling.

Both of them let go for a while and Jason wiped his tears off and he said, "I haven't cried for like so many years...not like this."

"It's cool. Hey, Jason...you still wanna have dinner with my family? If you're not doing anything this weekend..." Max started.

"I'd love to. Maybe Saturday would be a better time for me." Jason replied.

"Awesome. I'll let them know." Max added.

Soon enough, Max grabbed Jason's bandaged paw and placed them on top of his and almost immediately, he grabbed onto them and before long, Max unwrapped the bandages off and revealed that Jason's bloody knuckles and the cuts were gone...much to Jason's surprise.

"Don't ask how." Max replied.

* * *

Looks like Jason has found a friend...in his student. It's a good thing that Max still accepts Jason. Stay tuned for more!


	22. Fatherhood Share

And the struggles of being a new dad; changing a baby's diaper. Arizona and Musaki learned that particular duty.

* * *

Chapter 22: Fatherhood Share

At the Bushido-Akio house, Musaki was busy changing Noah's diaper and he was struggling to keep the silver fox cub still and he said, "Don't fight me, Noah. You need to have your diaper changed so you can smell fresh."

Noah was fussing the entire time and he grabbed some baby wipes to clean Noah's butt and he placed it in the trash and immediately puts in a fresh diaper in and as soon as he's done, Musaki picked Noah up and said, "You really know how to make a stinky diaper, don't ya?"

Before long, Musaki sets him down on the bed next to a sleeping Luke for a nap and Noah was very resistant to get a nap and Musaki could tell that this ius gonna be a very long afternoon to get Noah to sleep a little bit and he was gonna do whatever it takes to get Noah to bed right away and Musaki picked him up and cradled him in his arms to rock him to sleep.

As Musaki was cradling, he saw Noah's eyes getting a little droopy and that indicates that he's finally falling asleep and he kept cradling him until his eyes are fully shut and once he's asleep, Musaki gently placed him next to Luke and he whispered, "Sleep well, boys."

Afterwards, Musaki tiptoed out of the room and silently closed the door behind him and just decided to take a little break for a while and when he went downstairs, he saw Arizona and Jacob together and he said 'hi' to both of them and Arizona said, "Look, Jake...it's uncle Musaki. Say hi."

Arizona grabbed Jacob's paw and made it look like he's waving to Musaki and he asked, "How'd it go with Luke and Noah?"

Musaki took a deep sigh as he sat down and said, "Finally put Noah down for a nap. Keeping up with these two boys is much harder than it looks."

"I get what you mean. Being a dad is a lot of hard work, you know." Arizona stated.

Musaki nodded at this and said, "Just didn't realize how hard. I mean, I knew being a dad is hard work, but not like this."

"Trust me, you're not the only one. I've changed this little one's diaper many times before and I'm still new to this. Luckily, me and Sierra get to tag team together when it comes to Jake. Your uncle told me that it gets better when it comes to raising a cub and even though it's hard work, you just have to give them the best love you can give them. That and discipline. All we have to do is just wish for the best and just do what we can for them." Arizona said.

Musaki could understand what he meant by that and that he can do the best he can to raise both Noah and Luke and make good with the promise he's giving to Danzig before he died and he said, "You're right. How'd you get to be so wise anyway?"

"Let's just say that being a new dad gives you a chance to gain some knowledge and wisdom and look at life in a different perspective." Arizona answered.

"Fair enough. You're wise than my dad, grandpa and Shifu combined." Musaki said, with a chuckle.

* * *

Pretty insane, huh? Next up...concerns about Max and Tigress' rivalry.


	23. Concerns About Max and Tigress

And we get to the matter in between Max and Tigress' rivalry from another source.

* * *

Chapter 23: Concerns About Max and Tigress

Later that evening, Mako was busy looking after the panda infants and he was amazed by how much they've grown a little bit compared to when they were born and and where they're at now and it's amazing feeling to know that they're all gonna be a year old and he can hardly wait until they're growing up, but until that time comes, he's enjoying every moment of it.

Suddenly, he hears someone knocking the door and he noticed Xing-Fu Takahiro reaching his paws to him and with that, he picked up the youngest baby, carried him and walked downstairs very carefully to answer the door and by the time he answered, he saw Master Shifu standing there with Takami and he sais, "Master Shifu, Takami. What brings you two here?"

"Sorry to disturb your day, Mako." Shifu stated, noticing he's holding Takahiro.

"Oh, it's perfectly fine. You guys remember Xing-Fu Takahiro, right?" asked Mako.

Shifu looks at the youngest panda cub for a second and he does remember him very fondly and he said, "Yes, I do. How can I forget the time he left me a little present on my robe?"

Mako remembered that moment really well and he figured that Shifu was referring to the time that Takahiro urinated on Shifu's robe one time and Takami lets out a quiet snicker, which annoyed Shifu to no limit and merely glared at him for that amusement and Takami said, "What?"

"May we come in? We need to have a talk." Shifu said, turning back to Mako.

"Sure thing." Mako replied.

Shifu and Takami entered the house and Mako took them to the living room where the two masters sat down and Mako sat down while still holding Takahiro and he asked, "So...is it serious?"

"Very serious." Shifu replied.

Mako lets out a deep sigh and he looks at Shifu for a second and asked, "Is it an issue with Musaki or Arizona?"

"No issue." Shifu answered.

"Sage?" asked Mako.

"Not about Sage. It's the concern I have with Maximus." Shifu added.

Mako could tell that this has something to do with the 'rivalry' between him and Tigress and asked, "What did Tigress do this time?"

Shifu was surprised that Mako automatically knew about the issues between the two of them, but shrugged it off and said, "Max came over to the palace a few days ago and got attacked by Tigress again."

"What? For what?" asked Mako.

"Well...she still has that bitter resentment and jealousy towards your tiger son and wound up not only attacking him, but also your son's MMA trainer. The reason for that is because he hasn't been around the Jade Palace as usual and I had thought that it would give the two tigers some space, but apparently...Tigress cannot function her jealousy around Max, even when he's not physically present. He comes around every once in a while and something tells me that Tigress sees it as him slipping away after what had happened months before." Shifu explained.

Mako listened to everything Shifu said and he just lets out a sigh and said, "So...she misses him is what you're saying?"

"It's unclear whether she misses him or not, but she does have a tendency to function less when he's not around. But she has a very personal problem with not just Max, but from what I understand, his trainer at the MMA facility." Shifu answered.

"Jason?" asked Mako.

"Yes. She forced him to attack him over who's the better teacher to Max...which I find ridiculous, but Jason refused to do so. I could tell that he knows better and Max went out of his way and took the beating from her rather than letting Jason get defeated." Shifu replied.

Mako widened his eyes in shock for two reasons; that Max got attacked by Tigress again and also for putting himself on the line to defend Jason and it shows a bit of loyalty between the two of them and he had mixed feelings over those two situations. He wasn't sure whether he was disturbed by Tigress beat up Max again or proud of the fact that Max would do that act to defend his trainer.

"Why would Max take that risk?" asked Mako.

"Of all the times I've known Maximus, it seemed clear to me that at 10 years old, he knows the meaning of loyalty. Like he cares a lot about his trainer than his own life." Takami responded.

"And he still surprises me a lot." Shifu said.

Mako nods his head in agreement and said, "He surprises all of us. It's like he's a pillar of hope, compassion, strength and the act of a light in a ray of darkness."

Shifu nodded his head at that and he said, "But the real reason why we came is that I hope that you could sit down and talk with both of them and get this whole thing straightened out between the two of them. Max doesn't need to live in fear of Tigress' wrath nor does Tigress have anything to be jealous of, especially with a child. This whole thing needs to end before it gets too late. Because one of these days, it will get old soon when Max gets older."

"I agree. I'll have a talk with Max when he gets home tonight and see what we can do." Mako added.

"Very well. In the meantime, can I get you two anything?" asked Mako.

"No, thank you." Shifu replied.

Takami cleared his throat and he said, "We already got a bite to eat before we left."

Soon enough, in comes Samurai walking by the house and he sees his father, his baby brother cub Xing-Fu Takahiro and sees Takami and Shifu in the house and he said, "Hey, guys. What's going on?"

"Not a lot." Mako replied.

Takami was surprised to see Samurai coming in the house and he said, "Why aren't you at Mr. Ping's?"

"It's Wednesday. I always come to my house on a lunch break every Wednesday and Thursday." Samurai replied.

"Glad I asked." Takami added.

* * *

So...how will that talk go? You'll have to wait and see.


	24. Little Visitors

And we see the rest of the Hazards coming in the Bushido-Akio home.

* * *

Chapter 24: Little Visitors

During the time that Takami was present, in comes Ryo, Hope, Kiba, Kaizer, Faith, Ligress, Skyler and Layla walking into the Bushido-Akio house for a while and Takami asked, "What are you guys doing here?"

"Some guy named Headmaster Wing at the MMA facility invited us to come see what they do and we might get a chance to see what Max does." Faith replied.

"Oh, cool. Betcha we'll get to see Max at work." Takami said.

Seconds later, Musaki comes downstairs with both foxes on his back and he sees everyone standing there and he said, "Hey, guys. What brings you guys by?"

"Not much. Just chilling. How's fatherhood treating you?" asked Skyler.

Musaki sighed heavily and he said, "It's good. A little challenging at times, but for the most part, it's pretty cool. Anyways, I have to head to my apprenticeship training."

Musaki sets both cubs down to the couch, kneeled down to their level and he said, "Baba's going to do some training and uncle Mako is gonna look out for you guys. Can you try to be good for me?"

Both of them nodded their heads in response and Musaki smiled at them and he patted their heads and hugged them tightly and Layla witnessed Musaki's fatherly instincts kicking in and she was imagining what it would be like if she started a family with Takami soon and that they'd become parents.

Musaki looked up and noticed Layla witnessing his fatherly-like ways and he said, "I'm guessing you saw that."

"Yeah, I believe you are a good father, Musaki. Just don't doubt yourself." Layla added.

Layla's words started hitting him like a sack of bricks because after the fact that he was asked to take care of Noah and Luke, he did find himself in a lot of self-doubt lately because of his duties as a new father, but as soon as he realized what she meant...it meant a whole lot to Musaki to do his best to be a good father to those foxes no matter what.

"You think it really makes a difference?" asked Musaki.

"Of course. If I was a parent, I would never doubt myself if I'm good enough. There really is no right or wrong answer on how to be a good mom or dad. You just do your best." Layla added.

And Musaki was gonna take everything he said and just use it as an empowering statement he can do anything he can to do his absolute best to raise Luke and Noah possible and he said, "Thanks, Layla."

With a hint of confidence, Musaki was about to head to the apprenticeship and Ryo asked, "By the way, what sort of apprenticeship is it anyway?"

"Blacksmith. I get to polish and pound metal and it's something I've been wanting to do to make a living. Best part is...the majority of my position, I get to do something involved with weapons." Musaki replied.

That seemed to excite Ryo to the extent because he loves weapons a lot and loves to take better care, make and build weapons and he said, "That sounds like the coolest job ever."

"It is. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to have my own blacksmith workshop and maybe a weapons workshop too." Musaki stated.

"Dude, I want to see what you do. Like...take a job, go on training. Whatever it is, I want to learn." Ryo added, wagging his tail quickly.

Musaki always knew Ryo had a thing involving weapons and after Musaki mentioned it, he had no idea how much love Ryo has for weapons to that extent and he said, "I'll introduce you to Daisuke, if you want."

Takami yanked Ryo's ear and he told Musaki, "We have to head to the MMA facility first."

Ryo lets out a loud whine and said, "But I wanna see the weapons!"

Skyler sighed at Ryo's whining and she shook her head and said, "I have a whining pup as a boyfriend."

"I am not!" Ryo barked.

* * *

Coming up...everyone sees how Max does at the MMA training.


	25. Watching Max at Work

And everyone gets a chance to see Max's MMA skills at work.

* * *

Chapter 25: Watching Max at Work

Later that afternoon, the Hazards made their way to the MMA facility and they were stoked to see Max's training skills in full realization and Kiba couldn't contain his excitement any further and there was nothing more he could see than watching Max's skills right in front of the others and Ryo noticed from Kiba's tail wagging that he's overexcited and he rolled his eyes at Kiba's eager excitement and just straight up got annoyed by him.

Although he did have to admit, he is looking forward to see how Max is progressing at the MMA class and wonders how he's gotten these days and Ryo couldn't help but feel happy for Max and never expected him to grow up a little bit and before long, they were heading towards the area where Max and Jason train together and both tigers looked up and saw the Hazards come in.

"Hey, guys!" Max exclaimed, waving at them.

They waved back as well all full of excitement, happiness, anxiety and jubilation to see what he does and Takami said, "Nice to meet you again, Jason."

"Same here, Takami. And much better than what happened yesterday, huh?" asked Jason.

Takami nodded his head at that and he said, "Tigress has told me to tell you that she's apologizing for her behavior towards you and Max and said that it was not right of her to force you into fighting."

"Aw, don't worry about it. I've been there before." Jason replied.

"So...when do we see Max's new moves he learned from you?" asked Ligress.

Jason chuckled at that question Ligress asked and he turned to her and replied, "Right now."

All the Hazards were waiting in anticipation and they knew that whatever Max did, he would not disappoint and Max got himself ready to break them down and as Jason nods his head in approval to go, Max went all out ready and sparred with Jason and he did some punching, kicking, flipping and many amounts of blocking and dodging and did them all in rapid speed for a little guy.

Every single one of the Hazards couldn't keep their eyes away from Max's spectacular moves for a quick second and he combined elements of kung-fu into MMA and it was like Max is already a trendsetter and one to defy the laws of kung-fu moves and made it so revolutionary that it could not even be put to words.

As Max kept on sparring with Jason, his MMA side came out and he flipped, wrestled and slammed Jason down to the ground and both tigers kept going at each other and Kiba was rooting for Max to knock it out of the park and give it all he got and what Max did next would defy all expectations to the next level.

Jason came after Max with one wrestling move, but Max is one step above this level as he does a backflip and lands straight to the wall with his feet, making Jason miss his move. He climbed towards the walls, did an aerial backflip and landed straight onto Jason's back and flipped him multiple times and then wrestling him down to the ground and delivered the final blow by putting him in a chokehold.

Before long, everyone of the Hazards were cheering for Max and Kiba was fistpumping with so much fierce and spirit that it was impossible to contain and just cheered louder than ever and he shouted, "Maximus is da man! Can I get a what up?!"

"Cool it, Kiba." Faith said, glaring.

"I'm sorry, Fay. But I can't help it. I've never seen anything so awesome! And I know awesome really well when it comes to Max." Kiba answered.

Jason panted heavily as he got up and looked at Max in the eye and he was thoroughly impressed with Max's stunning amazement and capturing those moves very well and he said, "Now that's awesome."

"Thank you." Max said, bowing to him.

* * *

How awesome did Max do? Stay tuned for more!


	26. Impressed

And Max's MMA skills showcased towards the Elemental Hazards!

* * *

Chapter 26: Impressed

As the evening comes in, Blackhawk, Max, Tae Kwan Do, Logan and all the Elemental Hazards left the MMA facility to head to the Bushido-Akio place and they were talking about Max's amazing skills that were in total display and it left the Hazards speechless except for Kiba, who could not stop bragging about how awesomely skilled Max is.

Hope was one to brag less and he just complimented Max on how amazing he is and he said, "I guess that means you don't need our training anymore, huh?"

"I can still train with you guys anytime. I just hope that I can still have a chance." Max replied.

Hope chuckled and said, "Always, Max."

"You, Kiba, Ryo, Layla, Takami, Faith and Kaizer. But mostly Kaizer. His training's always unorthodox like mine and he's super strict. Not like Tigress strict, but..." Max stated.

Kaizer looked at Max for a second and just said nothing, but Hope wasn't that convinced on what he was really thinking and said, "You miss him hanging around, don't you?"

"I don't miss him that much, Haruki." Kaizer spat out.

Hope scoffed at this and he said, "That's not what you said in your sleep last night."

Kaizer wanted to have every mind to tackle Hope in so many ways and Hope pressed on, mocking everything Kaizer said in his sleep, regarding his missing Max and Kaizer got super annoyed by this, but held himself back to get at the bear until they reach the Jade Palace and that it wouldn't merit to attack him in front of Max.

Max chuckled softly at this and he looked at Kaizer and said, "I can always train with you anytime."

"That's fine with me." Kaizer added.

Before long, they reached the Bushido-Akio home and Max, Blackhawk, Tae Kwan Do and Logan thanked them for getting them home and they went to the house, leaving the Hazards heading back to the Jade Palace and Kaizer took one look at Hope and said to him, "When we get back, prepare to be chased."

* * *

Stick around to see what else goes on!


	27. Talk with Max

And Mako talks with Max about the situation that had occurred between him, Tigress and Jason.

* * *

Chapter 27: Talk with Max

Soon after Blackhawk, Max, Tae Kwan Do and Logan stepped into the house, they see Samurai come downstairs with a black cape on and Logan chuckled at this and asked, "What up with the cape?"

"A little bit of a costume party at the noodle shop. I'm going in as a samurai waiter, hence the name Samurai Samurai." Samurai chuckled.

Most of them were a little confused by that particular position with Samurai being used twice for that name and Tae Kwan Do asked, "Samurai Samurai? Really?"

"It sounded a lot better when I said it." Samurai replied, in response.

They had no idea what to say next, but just decided to drop the subject before either Logan or Tae Kwan Do say something a little embarrassing and Samurai smirked at them and said, "Don't have anything to say now?"

"You look awesome, Sam." Max cheered.

Samurai chuckled softly and rubbed Max's head and replied, "Thanks, Max. At least one person has good taste in my costume."

Tae Kwan and Logan looked a little offended by that statement and Logan tilted his head in confusion and he said, "I still think you look like a geek."

"Whatever. Oh, Max...dad wants to talk to you." Samurai added.

Max wasn't sure what to expect, but he nodded his head and went upstairs to go see his dad and Logan asked, "What does dad want from Max?"

"Not sure. Something about Tigress or something." Samurai replied.

Logan scoffed at that subject and made a smug look on his face and said, "And that's surprising because...?"

"Look, I don't know why, okay? Anyways, I gotta head back to work. Mr. Ping wacks me with a wok if I'm late." Samurai replied, heading off.

The thought of Mr. Ping smacking Samurai in the head with a wok if he's late showed a lot interest to Logan and he lets out a smirk and said, "I would love to see that."

Meanwhile, Max made his way towards Mako's room and as he entered in the room, he was really nervous about what's going on and he silently whispered, "Dad?"

"Hey, Max."

Max turned around and saw Mako coming in the room and Max fidgeted his fingers, assuming that he might be in trouble or something and Mako said, "Have a seat."

He walks over to the edge of Mako's bed and as Mako sat down and faced Max, all Max could do is look at him and asked, "Am I in trouble?"

"No. You're not in any trouble. We just need to have a little talk." Mako replied.

Max was relieved that he wasn't in trouble, but he knew that this was the beginning of the conversation and he said, "Samurai said you wanted to talk to me about something."

"Yes. Master Shifu and Takami came by this afternoon and discussed about what happened at the Jade Palace the other day between you, Tigress and Jason. Why didn't you tell me about this?" Mako asked.

Max blinked his eyes in deep surprise because he didn't expect Mako to know this directly from Shifu and he was a little petrified that he might be scolded for all this and Max replied, "I thought that you'd be angry."

"Me, angry? What would make you think that, Max?" asked Mako.

"Because I knew that it would be something Tigress related and that you wouldn't handle it directly because it gets on your nerves a lot and that you wouldn't understand and it'll turn into an all-out argument between all three of us and that it would never be resolved and Tigress would say that it's my fault that she's like this and it would hang over my head for the rest of my life." Max replied.

"Max...things like that are never your fault. And besides, Shifu told me about what you did for Jason that day. Don't you know how proud I am of you for doing that?" asked Mako, with a smile.

That was something Max didn't expect from Mako and he said, "You are?"

"Of course. I've always known you've shown a lot of loyalty, but you took control of a situation that was gonna end up going wrong. So, I'm not mad with the fact that you did it for your trainer. Shifu told me that Tigress was not herself whenever you're not around the Jade Palace and she seemed more envious of you outside the palace rather than being physically in the palace." Mako added.

Max's smile faded a little bit and Mako puts his finger to lift Max's chin up and Mako tells him, "Do not worry. We're gonna settle this. The three of us can sit down in my house and we'll have a talk about how are we gonna handle this situation between you two because you're much mature than Tigress."

"Okay." Max replied.

"That's good." Mako nodded.

Max was about to head out of the room, but not before asking Mako something else and said, "Jason said he's coming to dinner this weekend. Will Saturday be cool?"

"Of course it's fine with me." Mako said, with a smile.

"Thanks, dad." Max said, leaving the room.

* * *

You'll see the discussion that involves Max and Tigress take place soon!


	28. Setting Up for Dinner

And the Bushido-Akio family finally meets Max's MMA instructor for the first time...for dinner.

* * *

Chapter 28: Setting Up for Dinner

Saturday evening

Max was pretty much anious about the whole dinner meeting with Jason because after finding out about Jason's past, he wasn't sure how the entire family will accept it, but tried to remain as positive as possible and hopefully it'll work out well and soon, his ears picked up and heard someone's footsteps coming in and it was Arizona coming in the room and he said, "Hey, Zona."

"Hey, buddy. You nervous?" asked Arizona.

"Yeah. I hope you guys will like him." Max replied.

Arizona chuckled softly as he got down on Max's level and he said, "What makes you think we won't?"

Max wasn't really that sure if he can tell Arizona about Jason's tragic and hard past just yet and all he could do is just say, "Please don't judge him."

"Max...all you've done is said nothing but good things about Jason. You even told him that he's your favorite trainer to train with. We will never judge him for anything. You know that." Arizona said, putting his paw on his shoulder.

Max nodded his head in understanding and he said, "I just want you guys to like him."

"And we will." Arizona added.

Soon enough, both Max and Arizona came downstairs and both of them smelled every single aroma of food possible that's being made and cooked and Arizona couldn't help but take it all in and his ears were fluttering up and down from the smell and Max saw his ears fluttering and he said, "I saw that."

Arizona rolled his eyes at this and gave Max a noogie for old time's sake and said, "Very funny, bro."

Everyone was getting ready for the entire gathering and Sage hated wearing something festive and dressy and he said, "Why do I have to wear this crap? Why couldn't I just stick to just wearing my underwear?"

"We don't want to scare the guest. And besides...you need to show some table manners." Arizona stated.

Sage growled in response to that and he said, "Screw that. Manners are just bull..."

Arizona lets out a warning growl and lowered his eyebrows down and said, "I dare you to say it."

Sage wanted to finish what he just said, but eventually backed down and he hated that feeling of backing down and Arizona lets out a smirk and said, "I didn't think so."

The others got themselves ready for the attire while the others assisted in setting the table, cooking the food and placed every ounce of food on the table and Mako placed a guest chair in between Max and Arizona so that Jason can feel right at home and everything looks like it's ready and Max was getting ecstatic about the whole thing.

"Jason is gonna love this." Max stated.

Soon enough, they heard the door knock and Max immediately knew that it could be him, so he walked to the door and as he opened the door, he saw Jason and Headmaster Wing standing there and Jason said, "Hey, Max."

* * *

It's just the start. Stay tuned for more!


	29. Dinner Guests

And the dinner meeting comes in! Jason and Headmaster Wing comes in for dinner at the Bushido-Akio house!

* * *

Chapter 29: Dinner Guests

Max was a little surprised to see Headmaster Wing coming with Jason for this dinner with the Bushido-Akio's and he said, "Headmaster Wing, what brings you here?'

"I noticed that Jason was going to head to your house to join in for dinner and I figured that maybe I'd join in as well. If that's all right with you." Wing added.

Max blinked his eyes for this and he cleared his throat and replied, "Yeah, that'll be fine."

Just then, Mako walks to the door and sees not only Jason, but Headmaster Wing standing in the door as well and that took him by surprise as they meet each other again and he said, "Headmaster Wing. I didn't expect to see you here."

"A pleasure to see you as well, Mako." Wing said, bowing to him and shook his hand.

Mako accepted the handshake and he shook Jason's hand as well and as both of them came in, Jason was fascinated by the Chinese/Japanese vibe in the entire house and loved the fact that it's a very welcoming feel and it made him feel like he's at home right now. Max comes right behind Jason and he could tell that Jason's amazed that Max could actually live in places like this and he said, "It's awesome, huh?"

"Yeah. How long have you lived there?" asked Jason.

"When I was six. They adopted me and brought me to their house to live in. Of course, I was always nervous about how long I would stay here because I don't want to go back to the orphanage. These guys gave me something to look forward to and it made me want to become a much better person after this tragedy that I've been through when I was four." Max replied.

Jason was taken aback by how much Max took his personal tragedy in stride and rose above it and he said, "You're like a tiger phoenix, man. Rising up from the painful ashes and flying high across the sky looking for freedom."

"Yeah, let's put it like that." Max added, with a chuckle.

Shortly thereafter, Max took Jason to meet the rest of his family and as soon as they entered the dinner table, Jason's jaw nearly dropped to the ground once he saw the numbers of siblings that are sitting there and he was stunned to see that Max has a very big extended family and everyone turned around to meet Jason for the first time and everyone said hello to him and Jason replied, "Nice to meet you."

Max and Jason walked towards their seats and as soon as Max sat down, Jason sat down in between him and Arizona and before long, everyone stood up individually and introduced themselves to him and Headmaster Wing and after that, Mako said, "Everyone dig in. Headmaster Wing, you and Jason go ahead and serve yourselves first."

They did exactly just that and after they got their servings of food, everyone else got theirs on their plate and Mako started to get to know Jason a little bit better and he asked, "So...Jason, how long have you been training Max?"

"I started training him a couple of months ago, sir. I was actually aware of him whenever the group MMA class had started while we were doing some student training." Jason replied.

"Student training?" asked Mako.

"Yes. My students are also instructors to kids in their own right. They volunteer their time to teach kids what they need to learn about MMA and self defense as well." Wing replied.

"That's actually very interesting." Reiko said, amazed.

Jason nodded in agreement and he kept eating his chow mein and chewed it slowly and Wing said, "I've been taking Jason in for about 2 years now when he first came to the Valley of Peace. I was actually aware of him after he got out of prison."

Mako nearly choked on his water after the 'P' word was spewed out of the headmaster's mouth and Jason flattened his ears in response to that and Reiko asked, "Prison?"

"Yes, ma'am. From what I gathered, he made a lot of bad choices in his life and when I first met him, he seemed like this scared, yet sorrowful kid with a criminal record and I was willing to shape him up and make him a much better person than he was. He was very cooperative and I've never seen someone with much drive and determination after I started training him." Wing replied.

Mako looked up at Jason and he asked, "What did you go to prison for?"

Jason was nervous to tell this straight to Max's adopted father, but he felt Max's paw touch his shoulder and a look on his face that tells him that 'it's okay' and with that hint of reassurance, Jason replied, "Just hanging out with the wrong crowd, basically. I did a lot of stupid stuff that I know I'm not proud of; starting fights, stealing, disturbing the peace, beating up my dad's girlfriend and my mom's boyfriend out of rage...one that I can never fully forgive myself for."

Reiko was a little surprised that Jason was involved in stuff like this and Mako couldn't help but be a little shocked by this, but at the same time, this is about a kid who's been through a lot of stuff and just wants a second chance at life. Mako sighed heavily at this and he looked at Max and he said, "Did he tell you this?"

"Yeah, he told me already." Max replied.

"I bet you had to shower with crazy prisoners, right?" asked Sage, raising his eyebrow.

"Sage..." Mako said, through clenched teeth.

Jason lets out a very deep sigh and said, "If I'm honest, all the time I've been at the MMA facility, the headmaster saw some potential in me, even when I never saw potential in myself. And when I taught Max, he just brought the best out of me. I know it sounds weird as a teacher, but he really believed in me on the first two weeks that I became his personal MMA trainer. This kid has so much energy and so much spirit, determination and brings his skills in a way that I've never seen before."

"Max is always one to achieve so well. Even on the first try, he's a very quick learner." Reiko replied.

Samurai agreed with that and he said, "This little one is like an example of hope and light in this family. Most of us don't think so, but personally, he has this ability to just shine a light at a bad situation and make the most of it."

"Very true. He's an inspiration to all of us that even in bad times, there's always a light at the end of the tunnel. I guess what he had gone through in his life made him stronger than anything." Phoenix added.

"That's what I saw in Max when he first stepping into my class. Which I have to ask...how did he become like this?" asked Wing.

Mako sighed at this and he replied, "Sometimes...I have no idea how he's like this, but he's been following our example in our family, we have always taught our kids some morals and values; being a light to others, always be kind, considerate and helpful to others and show compassion. For Max...he embodies all of those, even after a traumatic experience he had faced before and he never lets it define him."

"I've been called strange and unusual before because of that, but that's okay to be a little strange. I wouldn't change anything for anyone anyway." Max said.

Jason chuckled softly and he said, "You've adopted a really awesome kid, you know."

"Thank you. And you're an amazing teacher to my son as well." Mako added.

"So...where do you live right now?" asked Reiko.

Jason sighed heavily and he replied, "I live in a room on top of the MMA facility because I don't have any money to have my own place to live."

"How long have you lived in that facility?" asked Samurai.

"About a year or so. Wing gave me a room to live for a while until I have a place to call my own." Jason replied.

"Oh...I see." Reiko added.

"Yeah, there's that. I know I have to find a job that actually pays. I love what I do at the MMA class and it's rewarding to volunteer and help out kids, but at the same time, I just need to have a steady job." Jason replied.

"I'm sure you'll find a job soon." Mako added.

Jason nodded his head and as they enjoyed their dinner, Wing started talking about the times at MMA class and of course, most of those involve Logan...in which the pre-teen cub was too embarrassed to hear from the headmaster and Tae Kwan whispered, "So glad I'm not you right now."

* * *

Was that an awesome dinner event or what? Looks like the entire family is starting to like Jason now. Stay tuned for more!


	30. Thoughts on Jason

And after the dinner, the family gathers some thoughts about Jason.

* * *

Chapter 30: Thoughts on Jason

After the dinner, Wing and Jason were ready to leave and they thanked them for the amazing dinner and Jason looked like he had been eating so much food that he could barely walk or stand and Mako asked, "You sure you couldn't stay a little longer?"

"Wish we could, but we have to get back." Wing added.

Jason sighed heavily and he said, "Hey, Max...thanks for inviting me over. I really appreciate it."

Max nodded his head and gave his trainer a fist bump and replied, "Anytime."

Mako shook both Wing and Jason's paws and he looked at Jason and said, "You and Wing are welcome in our house anytime you want."

Jason nods his head at that and he said, "Thank you. It's very nice to meet you all."

Reiko smiled at this and he said, "I just hope you can stay on the right path."

"I'll do my best." Jason added.

Both masters bowed to them as they left the house and Max was feeling pretty happy that Jason was there at the house for dinner and he looked at everyone else and Max asked, "So...what did you think? Isn't he great?"

"He's very amazing. Jason's pretty lucky to have a trainer like you, Max." Mako responded.

"You think we should help Jason find a job and a home?" asked Max.

It was like a light bulb that popped out of the entire family's head and Reiko said, "That's a great idea, Max."

"Kiss-up. Can I take these crappy dressy clothes off now? I'd rather stand here in my underwear." Yow-Ni said, with folded arms.

Phoenix responded with a simple grunt of disgust and said, "Take it upstairs. Nobody wants to see your wolf junk."

Sage and Yow-Ni walk upstairs to get rid of the snazzy clothes and drop them straight to the floor and they walked to their rooms, shirtless and in their underwear. Samurai sighed as he picked them off the floor and walked towards the laundry room to place them in the dirty clothes pile and Max said, "So...what do you think we should do?"

"Maybe you can talk it over with Jason and we'll go from there." Mako answered.

"I'd like that." Max replied.

All of a sudden, two different pairs of dirty underwear were thrown at Max's face and Max was clearly disgusted the minute he smelled Sage and Yow-Ni's underwear and had to endure to rotten smell of it and he said, "I gotta go wash my face."

* * *

Okay...anything you wanna do to Sage and Yow-Ni after that? Give me your answer while you review! Stay tuned...as Max faces Tigress again as they try to squash this feud for their first attempt.


	31. Settling This Rivalry?

And here's the first attempt at trying to squash this rivalry and you can feel the tension brewing through.

* * *

Chapter 31: Settling This Rivalry...?

The next day, Mako was walking downstairs to the living room and he sees Max sitting there, looking a little anxious about this whole thing and Mako could share the tiger cub's anxiety and he comes towards him and he said, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. I just hope that she's still not mad at me." Max replied, a little worried.

Mako patted Max's shoulder for comfort and assured him that everything will be okay and that he'll get through this and that this whole thing will be settled and that maybe this would be the end of the jealous rivalry between the two because Max doesn't really like to be in the middle of Tigress' envious wrath and it scares him to death that something might happen that could trigger Tigress' further dislike towards the cub through those few years.

"Don't worry about a thing. Shifu, Kaizer, Kiba, Takami, Ryo, Skyler, Layla, Ligress, Hope and Tamaki are gonna keep an eye on things as soon as they get there. Shifu made sure that no harm or argument will commence during this time. I promise." Mako added.

Max knew that he could count on his father and the minute he looked at his dad in the eye, he knew that he could trust him for anything and everything and he nodded his head and replied, "Okay."

Mako smiled and lifted his chin up for comfort and reassurance and it made Max's anxiety calm down a little bit and it really helped a little bit and soon enough, they heard a knock on the door and Max knew that it was Shifu, Tigress and most of the Hazards coming in and Mako walked towards the front door to answer it and indeed it was them.

"Thank you all for coming on such short notice." Mako said, greeting them with a bow.

The others bowed back as well and Shifu said, "Thank you for allowing us to settle this feud. Let's hope that it's over and done with for good."

Tigress already felt uneasy about settling this feud and she's still haunted by all the stuff that she did to Max months before and just recently when she attempted to attack both him and Jason due to her prideful jealousy that she doesn't know if it'll be the end of their issues just yet because she still carries her uncontrollable jealousy and bitter resentment towards Max.

Takami could already sense that something's gonna happen during this meeting and has a bad feeling on the pit of his stomach that another fight might commence and that Max will get the worst of it soon enough, but he's prepared for what will happen soon and his main focus is sorely on Max and his safety.

Mako led them towards the living room and that's where they see Max sitting there and as he waved 'hi' to all of them, Tigress could tell that he's still regaining his positivity and has extreme second thoughts about this and couldn't bear to face Max and she said, "I can't do this."

She turned to leave, but Shifu stopped her right away and said, "We are not having this today, Tigress. Me and Mako have already discussed it and you have to end this constant rivalry between the two of you!"

"Shifu, I can't face him! And I certainly can't talk to him!" Tigress shouted.

Max could tell that the early tension is coming up fast and he was reluctant to go through with this, but he's more willing than ever to put an end to this bitter blood between two tigers right this instant and Mako looked at Tigress in the eye and said, "You can walk away from everything in your life, but this is something you're not gonna talk yourself out of doing this time. Now it has to end right here, right now."

Tigress wasn't willing to go through with this because she's too consumed with fear, regret and bitter jealousy towards Max and no matter what she does when he's around, the envious feelings wasn't gonna go away sooner, but the minute when Mako meant everything he said made her back down a little and she brought herself to face Max and everyone else sat down on the couch in the living room, but there was a huge amount of tension brewing betwen both Max and Tigress.

Mako sat down on his seat and he can sense some early tension coming in and he's doing whatever he can to keep the peace from there and he said, "First of all, thank you so much for coming here and place and end to this rivalry between my son and Master Tigress. The reason why I called this settlement is that Max shouldn't deserve to go through stuff like this and that his positive spirit shouldn't be rivaled by anyone. Master Shifu, would you care to comment?"

"I would love to." Shifu replied.

Shifu got himself up, clears his throat and started with Max first and he said, "First and foremost, you're a remarkable young man who has a lot of energy and great outlook on life for someone young as yourself. I just hope everyone around this valley has a Maximus like you do. But I really want to let you know that you acknowlege that you don't want to have this rivalry between you and Tigress and I highly respect that. My only comment to you is at least try your hardest to remain as positive as possible and if there's any issues about this, do not hesitate to come to me, your father, the Hazards or the Dragon Warrior."

"Okay." Max replied.

"And there's something else I want to tell you...those things like that are not your fault. I'm too old to handle this tiger rivalry. Not that I'm sick of both of you, but that I am tired of having to put up with this. And I know you know better than that. I personally don't think there's a problem with the way you are and as long as you are fine with it, so are we." Shifu explained.

Max nodded his head in understanding with regard to where he's going with this and he said, "I don't wanna hurt Tigress. I would never hurt anyone else's feelings or make them feel like they're second or third or anything. I treat them with kindness and respect and compassion too."

"And that's what we like about you, Max." Layla spoke up.

The other Hazards agreed with that and Hope also said, "We just like you for you. And like Shifu said, you can come to us if there's a problem you have that you can't handle on your own."

Tigress sat there and watched everyone settle this issue and as Max opens up a little more, Tigress got more and more and more tense by the minute and it's like the biggest tension kept building up and building up more tighter than ever and her jealousy level kept soaring to a new level. Takami could take one look at Tigress and that she was gonna pop off on Max any minute and with pleading eyes, Tigress could look into Takami's face that completely begged her to place her pride aside and leave it alone and miraculously, Tigress simmered down.

Now, Shifu came towards Tigress and asked, "Why are you always so jealous of Max all the time?"

Tigress wasn't willing to open up about this and Shifu wanted to ask that question again and he kept repeating it until Tigress sighed in annoyance and she said, "He knows why I'm so jealous of him."

That wasn't a good enough response and Mako said, "He does. He just needs to know why you're always like that."

"Listen, Mako...there's really no reason to tell you why I'm jealous towards him all the time. Everytime I see his face, it's like I want to rip it apart to put him out of my misery." Tigress answered.

"What awful things has he done to you, Tigress?" asked Layla.

"Everything! Why can't you see that I don't want to be bothered by this anymore?!" Tigress shouted.

Mako stood up and said, "Lower your voice. This is not the time nor the place for this. We came here to end this rivalry between you two. Max is willing to move forward and you have to do the same."

"No matter what I do towards him, I'll never get over my jealousy towards him! It's not gonna go away and it will probably NEVER go away! The reason why I'm so mad with him; he's been through suffering and yet he smiles about it, always has his attention towards you all and he accomplished everything so quickly! Why can't I be happy just like him?! It's just not fair!" Tigress shouted.

Mako could tell that Tigress wants to hit and/or break something any minute and he immediately got in the way to try his best to simmer her down and what happened after that? The first thing Tigress did is hit Mako straight to the face and when she saw what she did...the result was giving Mako a black eye.

Mako grunts as he got up and stared at Tigress in the face and witnessed a very shocked and completely remorseful Tigress being horrified by what she did and Max just stood there frozen and any chances of reconciling were vanished very quickly and she just ran out of the house in all fours to head back to the Jade Palace.

Shifu sighed heavily and just shook his head in disbelief and here was the chance to put it all behind them and that chance was already gone because of Tigress' refusal to let it go and fear of being forgotten because of Max and that literally frustrated Shifu and he knew that no matter what, Tigress would never bring herself to end this rivalry and he fears that it's just begun.

"I'm sorry this happened that way, Mako. We failed." Shifu said, in remorse.

Mako sighed and he turned to Shifu and said, "No, don't say that. Don't say you failed. It's just a little setback, that's all."

"Yeah, never stop trying." Max chimed in.

Even in a very twisted turn of events, there's always still good in the end and Mako said, "I do appreciate you for trying though."

Before long, everyone left the residence to head back to the Jade Palace and as they were walking back, Takami could see Shifu's head hanging low due to what had just happened and Tigress threw away that chance to end this rivalry because she can't control her own jealousy and to top it off, she punched Mako in the face hard.

"So...what do we do now?" asked Takami.

"I'm washing my hands out of this whole thing, Takami. From now on, it's Tigress' problem." Shifu replied, bitterly.

* * *

And that's proven unsuccessful...which then leads to the other fic 'End of the Tiger Rivalry' where Tigress' jealousy towards Max comes to an end. Check it out if you want. Here's the final chapter coming up!


	32. The Best is Yet to Come

And the final wrap-up to this story! Jason gets a happy ending!

* * *

Chapter 32: Best is Yet to Come

One month later

Mako, Max and Headmaster Wing brought Jason over blindfolded to give him a little surprise and Jason had no clue on what's going on and he kept asking what the surprise is and Mako replied, "It's a surprise, Jason. Trust us...it'll be one you won't forget."

A few minutes later, they finally reached this one place that's about a few miles from the MMA facility and closer to the Bushido-Akio home and finally, they stopped and Jason asked, "When do I see it?"

Mako and Max took off Jason's blindfold while Headmaster Wing replied, "Right now."

The minute Jason opened his eyes, shock overpowered him with a deep gasp as he looked at this one house that's completely his own and he was speechless and amazed that this is his and Max asked, "Too stunned to speak?"

Jason nodded his head, confirming his shock and surprise as he slowly walked towards the house and as he stepped foot there and entered the inside of the house, it was completely different from the apartment room he used to have at the MMA facility and it was all overwhelming for him, but in a good way.

"What do you think?" asked Mako.

Jason turned around for a second and faced them with misty eyes and he said, "Are you guys serious?"

"Yep. Very serious. It's really your house that you can live in." Headmaster Wing replied.

It took several seconds for Jason to get a response because he's overwhelmed with deep, pure emotion and he had always wanted to have a place of his own, but couldn't afford to do so and Mako said, "We built it specifically for you as a token of appreciation for teaching my son MMA and self defense. It was all Max's idea."

Jason looked at Max and he couldn't be any more happier and he walked towards him, went down on his level and he said, "I really appreciate this. You did this for me?"

"Of course. I see you as my best friend and a teacher at the same time." Max replied, with a smile.

"I never thought that what I would do could impact someone like you. I had thought that I did this as a second chance to start my new life and now I have the place to do that. I don't have so much words to say other than thank you guys so much and you don't know how much it really means to me and I'm so humbled for this. I want to thank you guys from the bottom of my heart for this one act of kindness for me." Jason said, tearfully.

"Anytime." Max said, happily.

With that, Jason couldn't resist coming at Max and give out a big hug and he embraced the hug so deeply and after that, Mako said, "Enjoy your new home and your new life, son."

"I know I will. Thank you." Jason said, happily.

With that, Max, Mako and Wing left the house, but not before Max said, "I'll see you at the MMA ring tomorrow."

"Count on it." Jason said, with a smile.

* * *

And that's it! Jason's finally got a home! Thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed it! AniUniverse is out!


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